


Stitches

by charmed4b



Series: Stitches [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Louis, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bottom Harry, F/M, Impregnation, M/M, Omega Harry, Past Abuse, Smut, Top Louis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-04-23 07:20:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 52,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4868063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charmed4b/pseuds/charmed4b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh please, it was like the opening scene of a porno in here. Heated glances, soft touches, your doey 'shag me please' eyes. He couldn't keep his eyes off ya."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on my twitter @allourstitches for updates on all things Stitches and Scars.  
> If you have a question for me that I have yet to answer here, leave it there! I'll be happy to answer them all. 
> 
> I'll try to update every week, but if it can't be done, i'll try and update you on twitter so you're not left in the dark.

"Alphas are arseholes!" 

The loud cry reverberated off the tile walls, the heated kitchen empty save for the head chef and a very upset Harry. 

"Oh for shits sake.."  
Niall's tone was one of complete despair, his hip resting against the counter next to the stove. It was a quiet Monday morning, meaning that Niall was the only chef on schedule and had barely anything to do. 

A young omega just like Harry, Niall had been the first new friend he had made once he moved to Manchester. The head chef of the small diner they worked at, he had free reign to do just about anything he wanted when the place was quiet, and right then he was using that freedom to munch mindlessly on a small plate of fully loaded nachos. He was usually the poor sap that was stuck with listening to Harry's rants, the other waiters and cooks long since bored with his anti alpha views. 

Harry's gaze hardened as he looked at the blond, his back pressing against the cool metal of the large industrial freezer set up in the far end of the room. "Oh don't be like that." 

Niall snorted, watching his friend with mild amusement as he let his hand rest against the cool granite. "You do this every morning, Haz. A customer gets on your nerves and you come bursting in here like they insulted the queen." 

The sound that came from Harry was a mix of a scoff and a snort, and not very attractive in the least. That'll get you a date, Harold. "He might as well have! Acting like he owns me because I'm "perfect for breeding" the fuck does that mean? Perfect for breeding. I'll show him how perfect for breeding I am when I shove a hot poker up his--" 

He was cut off mid rant by the kitchen door swinging open, the crash of concrete on tile sending chills down the omegas spine as he stood up straight. 

"Last time I checked I had a server on schedule for the bar. Come to find he's back here bitching about fuck knows what." 

Liam's irritated tone held little power, the stern look in his eyes faltering slightly as he looked between the two of them. The room went eerily silent for a moment before both Niall and Harry snorted out laughter, Harry doubled over as he wheezed for air. 

"Very nice, mate. I was almost afraid there for a second." Niall could barely speak between gasps for air, his hand lifting to wipe at the tears that had slipped out to trail down his cheek. 

Liam Payne was just about the only other employee at the joint Harry and Niall could stand, plus one of the only Alpha wolves that didn't make Harry wish he could burst flames from his eyes. His cheery personality and bright smile making it hard to hate him. And oh trust that Harry had tried. He had started working there almost two years before Harry, who was working on 3 years himself, and just last week he had been promoted to management, something that was an adjustment to all of them. 

Liam's shoulders seemed to slump, feet carrying him half heartedly into the kitchen and towards the large middle island that the chefs used for preparation. "Yeah well, I gotta get used to this new management thing. So if the boss asks, you nearly wet your pants." 

Harry grinned and nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. "Will do, mate." 

Shaking his head, Liam hoisted himself up on the counter, hands resting loosely against his knees. "So what's got your knickers in a knot today?" Harry didn't need to be looking at Liam to know the question was directed at him, lips turning down into a small grimace. 

"Nothing, just some git trying to charm himself into my trousers by telling me my hips were perfect for breeding." 

Snorting, Liam raised an eyebrow, hand reaching out to snatch a nacho from Niall's plate, earning him a sharp slap to the wrist. He didn't seem phased, munching on the chip lazily as he watched Harry. 

"How can he tell? You can barely see them behind that jumper you always wear." 

Harry made a face, gaze slipping down to take in his attire. A pair of black skinny jeans, covered by black boots that looked like they had been put through hell, mostly covered by a black hoodie that he never left his flat without. His long brown curls were pulled up into a loose bun atop his head and a pair of thickly rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. He'd admit, it wasn't the most flattering of outfits, but if he truly cared about being attractive to others he'd have to get up far earlier than he did already and that was just asking for trouble. 

"Piss off Liam." Came his grumbled reply, earning him a wide grin and sharp laugh. 

Niall seemed to pop up from his little corner of the room just then, a plate of food in hand as he made his way over to Harry. "Pay no mind to the idiot alphas, that one on the counter included. Just keep your head down and get through the next hour." 

Huffing out a long breath, he took the plate from him and pushed away from the freezer, gaze looking almost defeated. "Fine, but the next git that comments on my birthing hips gets omelet in their trousers." 

And with that he turned and pushed through the door, lips instantly curling into that perfectly fake smile. 

"You don't actually think he'll do it do ya?" Liam's concerned question pulled Niall's attention from the door long enough to shoot an amused look over his shoulder at the alpha, perfect blond eyebrow raised in a challenging look. 

"You willing to bet your shiny new promotion on that?" 

"Shit.." Liam hissed, lunging off the counter and practically running for the door just as it swung shut. Niall snorted, dissolving into a new fit of laughter as he moved back towards the stove. 

The rest of Harry's shift went.. Well he didn't upend eggs into anyone's pants, so he was focusing on the small victories. Brushing into the small flat, he nearly collapsed on the couch, fully prepared to go into a comatose state until the end of time.

If only his luck worked out that way. 

Just as he was settling into the cushions a knock sounded on the door, the loud sound causing a groan to erupt from deep in Harry's chest. There was only one person that could be. 

Hoisting himself up to his feet, Harry moved towards the door and opened it just enough to see those familiar brown eyes peering at him from the gap. "Go away I'm not home." 

"Right, and I'm shagging the queen." Zayn's tone was as clipped as it always was, the door being shoved open by a forceful push from the Alpha. 

For an omega who hated alpha's, he sure as hell surrounded himself with a lot of them. Not like he had gotten much choice when it came to Zayn, the guy being his closest mate since birth practically. 

"Well, some say she has the energy of a woman in her 30's. So I guess if that does it for ya, mate." 

The look Harry got in return showed that Zayn was less than amused with his sass. Didn't stop him from giving it. 

"If I wanted your sass I would have asked for it." 

"And if I waited for you to ask, I'd never talk." 

"You're starting to catch on, then? 'Bout time." 

That got Zayn a hard smack on the arm as Harry passed him, moving into the kitchen to grab them both a beer. "What do you want, Zayn? Get tired of staring in the mirror?" 

"Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?" Zayn retorted reaching out to snatch the beer from Harry as he moved to perch himself on the edge of the armrest. "Nah, I wanted to let you know that I scheduled a shoot for you tomorrow before your shift at the diner." 

Zayn worked for a high end magazine, the name of the damned thing still seeming to slip Harry's mind as he moved to sit on the coffee table, bottle slowly lifting to his lips. Every once in awhile, Zayn would schedule harry to do some huge photoshoot for whatever big fashion idiot they were publishing about that month. It was a nice way for Harry to explore his passion and good for some pocket cash on the side. 

"Who's your newest victim? Poor sap doesn't know he's about to get roasted does he?" 

That got him a dirty look, which honestly Harry had learned was the only kind of look Zayn could give him unless he was drooling wasted. Then it was a look of mild distaste. 

Again, small victories. 

"I don't roast everyone I publish about, Harold. Just the ones who deserve it. Besides, this one is one of my all time favorites. Mr. Louis Tomlinson. Owner and CEO of Tomlinson inc." The look he got from Harry told Zayn that he had absolutely no idea why that was such a big deal, which only served to make the look in Zayns go from dirty to outright filthy. "Honestly, Harry do you go outside anymore? Tomlinson inc. Is the leading industry in fashion in all of Britain. They own stores all throughout and are the leading funders of yours truly." 

Harry nodded slowly, lips closing around the bottle as he absentmindedly took a large sip, eyebrow slowly raising as he tried to look even mildly interested. "So... He's important?" 

A strangled sound slipped from Zayn as he stood up, his free hand gesturing in a way that had Harry feeling mildly insulted. 

"You're bloody hopeless. Try shopping in places that don't sell half prices churros next to their jeans for once, will ya?" 

Harry looked insulted, a scoff slipping from parted lips as he watched him. "I'll have you know I only went there once... And you loved that churro!" 

Zayn seemed to barely hear a word he said as he started to move towards the door, hand waving absentmindedly behind him. "Yeah yeah, just be at the Merlot tomorrow at eight am sharp. And try not to insult Mr. Tomlinson by looking like... You." 

Harry gave a whole new meaning to the word throw pillow when he had the one sitting next to him in the air, flying towards Zayns head. His timing was off by just a second, because the pillow ended up smacking into his door as it swung shut and not Zayns head like he had intended. 

"The nerve of some people.." 

That night Harry laid out in bed, legs and arms spread out around him. His hair had been pulled from the bun, spanning out around his head against the pillow as he tried to will himself to fall asleep. His occasional insomnia wasn't so occasional nowadays, and Harry knew why, he just didn't want to admit it. Letting out a long sigh, he rolled onto his side and reached out, fingers blindly feeling for the drawer in his bedside table. Once he found it, more like slammed his finger into the edge painfully, he yanked it open a little more forcefully than intended and reached inside. 

Pulling out the bottle of suppressants that he kept for this time of the year, he struggled with the child proof bottle cap. Honestly, what child would be messing around with suppressants? This is just overkill. By the time he got it open he was about ready to throw it into the wall, but managed to calm himself long enough to shake two small pink pills into his open palm. They looked almost like aspirin to anyone who didn't know better. 

Twisting the cursed cap back onto the bottle, he tossed it back into the drawer and snatched up the bottle of water be kept by his side at night. Slumping back into bed the moment the pills were down, he closed his eyes. If he was lucky, he'd get a few hours of semi decent sleep before he had to get up and pretend to be human while snapping pictures of some prude in an over priced suit. His dreams finally coming true. More like nightmares. 

If of course, he could ever fall asleep. 

By the time eight rolled around, Harry had managed to get a grand total of twenty minutes of interrupted dozing, which only served to sour his mood that much more. 

He had opted to skip a shower, so his hair was in a much tighter bun than before to hopefully hide the fact that it was in desperate need for a wash. He had on his usual trousers and a hoodie, but had opted to ditch the glasses that morning in favor of looking into his camera at whatever Fashion snob Zayn was pissing himself about now. 

"Louis Tomlinson. Say it with me, Haz. Louuuiiissss tooommmllliinnnssooonn" 

Harry scowled at Zayn, who was of course the picture of stunning. He had on a pair of form fitting black slacks with a black button up tucked into the waistband. The sleeves had been rolled up just past his elbows so that a good portion of his tattoos were visible. A small amount of the tattoo on his chest could be seen through the two unbuttoned buttons at the top of his shirt, and his hair was slicked back as much as the short cut would allow. 

Harry had half a mind to kick him, the arse. 

"I know his name. Just don't care enough to say it every ten minutes like you seem to do." His gaze lowered to the camera strapped around his neck. It was the most expensive thing he owned, and along with the lighting and backdrop, he could easily pay his rent with how much he put into his photos, but he didn't dare sell a single piece. He could still feel the excitement that had infected him for days after he opened up his first digital camera for his birthday. A combined birthday present from both his mum and sister Gemma. Now it sat on his dresser to remind him of where he started. 

And apparently he ended with late fashionistas. "Isn't this tommo guy supposed to be here already?" 

"Tomlin- you hurt me, Hazza. And he's a very important guy, he's allowed to be as late as he wants." 

"Well I'm important too, ya know. The omelets aren't going to serve themselves. Just because he's some high end wanker doesn't mean he gets to waste all us lesser peoples times by taking his mustang another spin around his pony barn." 

The look on Zayns face was one of pure shock, and for a moment Harry thought he had finally managed to get under Zayns skin.. Until he realized he was looking over his shoulder and not at him. 

Oh fuck him..

"No, please do continue. I'm interested to know how many ponies you think I have." 

Harry spun around and came face to face with... 

Oh double fuck him.


	2. Chapter 2

Louis Tomlinson was... Well for lack of a better word, gorgeous. His long legs and matching torso had him practically swooning, and the way the suit covered him looked like it was specially made to fit his every curve didn't help. 

He's loaded you tit, of course its made to fit his every curve. 

Good to know his mind was just as cynical as the rest of him. Louis eyes were creased in amusement and were the most stunning shade of blue he had ever seen. The way they seemed to glisten as he smiled did nothing to help his current state of complete mental shut down. 

No seriously Louis Tomlinson, fuck him. Against every surface of this room. 

Harry didn't have time to process how completely mad that thought was before he was being nudged out of the way by a very irritated Zayn. He was never going to hear the end of this one. 

"So sorry about my ex friend, Louis."  
Louis laughed, and for fuck sakes it gets more attractive. 

"No worries, Zayn. I apologize for how late I am. I got held up on the way here. No mustangs or ponies involved." 

That made Harry wince slightly, avoiding the icy death glare he was sure Zayn was shooting over his shoulder at him. May the ground please open up and swallow him whole... Please. 

"No matter, you're here now and we can get started." Zayns tone was all business, disguising the fact that he was sure the older wolf was planning just how he was going to baste him with when he had him for dinner that night. 

"Brilliant! Where do you want me?" 

It took him a moment to realize Louis was talking to him, his blue gaze soft and expectant. 

Hovering on top of me would be great. 

Shit harry get it together! "Just over there." Was what actually left his lips, gesturing towards the backdrop they had set up. Louis just nodded and brushed past him, not giving him another glance. 

It was then that he actually focused on his scent. It was sweet, almost like candy, but had a strong undertone that shocked his system and... Oh fuck. 

He was an Alpha. 

Welp, there's the end of that. Slumping his shoulders, he turned so that he was facing him, desperately trying to distract himself from how stupid Louis looked standing all perfect and shit in front of the navy back drop. The color seemed to contrast against Louis tanned skin and as he shifted around per Zayns request he caught a glimpse of ink peeking out around his wrist from under the sleeve of his blazer. And for a brief moment Harry let himself imagine where else the wanker had tattoos. 

Oh yeah, he didn't have the willpower to handle the little problem that image gave him. Huffing, he moved to stand at the edge of the backdrop and let himself focus on what he was doing.

By the time they were done Harry had managed to get a lot of great shots for Zayn to pick from. Half way through Louis had shrugged his blazer off his shoulders and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up past his elbows and Harry cursed his life and every decision that lead him to be there at that moment. 

It didn't help that his loaded wanker wasn't actually a wanker at all. He was kind and always seemed to smile, and not just when the camera was on him. He joked around with Zayn and even gave as good as he got when it came to sass. He had a quick wit and outstanding timing that made it hard for Harry to not laugh at a few of his jabs to his friend. It seemed that him and Zayn had met before, the two speaking to each other in a very familiar manner that had Harry happily feeling like the odd man out. Good, that's how he liked it. Zayn could have at least warned him that Louis was barely older than them and sex on legs. 

Arsehole. 

Harry was packing up his camera when he felt a gentle hand brush his shoulder, the sudden contact making him gasp and spin around to look at whoever was in his space.

Oh world you have a sick sense of humor. 

Louis stood just back enough to not be in his personal space, his gaze soft and lips curled up into a gentle smile. He still hadn't put his blazer back on and now his braces hung off his shoulders against his legs. And Harry was officially offended. 

"It was nice meeting you, Harry." 

How did he know his name? Had Zayn said it earlier? Had he? And oh lord why did it sound so perfect coming from those full pink lips. He could feel his wolf whine, the sound needy and wanting, and totally not allowed to leave his lips. What came out instead was a small grunt and a nod. Which of course only served to amuse the other, lips creasing into a bright smile, and fuck him if it wasn't the most adorable thing he had ever seen. Hell, fuck him if it was. 

"I'll be seeing you, yeah?" Louis said, walking backwards towards the door which was being held open by a very interested Zayn. 

"I uh- yeah." Was all that managed to slip past the haze that had become Harry's permanent form of existence. 

"Yeah? Brilliant. Nice seeing you again, Zayn." 

Zayn said a polite goodbye before swinging the door shut behind Louis’ retreating form. His gaze seemed to zero in on Harry, and lord let him please suddenly drop dead of a heart attack, he was smirking. "Well.. That was interesting." 

Harry scowled, turning to continue placing everything in its respected place inside the camera bag. "What was? He stood there and smiled for an hour. I'd hardly call the paps about it." 

The snort that sounded behind him had him grimacing, green gaze narrowing as he glanced over his shoulder at Zayn as he seemed to saunter over towards him. He had barely a moment to brace himself before he had Zayns weight fully on his back, a strangled sound slipping from his lips as he did his best to stay upright. 

"Oh please, it was like the opening scene of a porno in here. Heated glances, soft touches, your doey 'shag me please' eyes. He couldn't keep his eyes off ya." 

Shoving back against Zayn so he'd get up, Harry straightened up and rolled his eyes. "I was the photographer. He's not supposed to take his eyes off me." 

Zayn shoved at his shoulder, moving past him to get to the large light at the edge of the backdrop. "Oh please, I'm pretty sure he thought of at least ten places he could bend you over in the first five minutes of being here." Zayn reached up as he spoke, switching the light off and unlocking the latch that kept it that height, guiding it down as it collapsed down to a more respectable height to be put back in its duffel. 

"In case you forgot, I was a total arse the first five minutes of him being here." 

"Even better!" Zayn flipped around to face him, hip popping out dramatically as he placed a hand over his heart like he was some damsel in distress. "Punish me alpha, I've been a bad boy." His voice went all dark and mocking, making Harry wish the light wasn't so expensive or he'd show Zayn what punishment really felt like. 

"I don't like this side of you." Harry grumbled. Grabbing the strap of his camera bag and slinging it over his shoulder. 

"Ahh but you see that wasn't a denial that you'd like to be punished by him." Zayn looked far too proud of himself for Harry to stand, the younger male shooting him a dirty look as he started to back out of the room. 

"I have to get to work, you got this?" He barely waited for Zayns small grunt of consent before he was ducking out of the room. 

Did he want to be punished by Louis? God no, that was not the kind of thing he liked. He had read enough 50 Shades of Grey to know why that was the worst idea. But he did want to be with Louis. At least for one night... Maybe into the morning.. And well into the afternoon if they could manage it. 

"Fuck, Harry. Get a grip!" He was sitting at a red light, fingers curled so tightly around the beat up steering wheel that his knuckles had turned ghostly white. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten so worked up over a simple meeting. Louis hadn't don't a damn thing to encourage his behavior, giving him sweet smiles just the same as he gave Zayn, yet there he was, sporting a very noticeable stiffy in his trousers. Nicely done Styles. Gold metal for you. 

His mood seemed to drop the closer he got to the diner so that by the time he got there, a half hour before his shift was supposed to start, he was bursting into the kitchen with barely a glance towards Liam. 

“That’s it! I’m moving to France and changing my name to Perrie.” 

A startled Niall looked up at him from where he was putting the finishing touches on an order, eyebrow arched up as he gave him a scrutinizing look. “Perrie? Really? You realize Harry still works in France right?” 

That apparently wasn’t the reaction Harry had wanted, because if looks could kill, Niall would be up in flames. 

“You can just go piss off.” 

The kitchen door swung open just then, a bemused Liam sauntering into the room and giving Niall a questioning look. “What has him all uptight?” 

Niall gave a small shrug, setting the plate on the serving counter just above the stove and ringing the bell to signal the on schedule waiter to come and get it. “Beats me, he says he’s moving to France.”

“France?”

“Yeah, and changing his name to Perrie.”  
“Does he realize Harry still works in France?”

With a small shrug, Niall turned to rest his hip against the counter. “I tried to tell him.” 

Harry let out a frustrated cry and threw up his hands, his expression contorting in a look of physical agony. “You both are completely useless! I’m in a crisis here!” The both looked over at him at the same time, the dull stare he got from them both not helping his mood even remotely. “What?” 

“Yes please do tell us the new Styles crisis. I was starting to worry that today was going to go by uneventful.” Liam’s tone was dry, tone bland as he huffed out a breath. 

“Do me a favor and stick your head in the stove.” Harry huffed, moving to leave the kitchen but was stopped by Liam’s firm hand on his wrist, yanking him back and holding him in place. 

“Oh don’t be such a priss. What’s up?” 

Harry stayed silent for a moment, lips pursed into a tight line as he debated on if he actually wanted to go into the traumatic events of the morning. He was still trying to wrap his head around it all himself. Letting out a frustrated breath, he let his shoulders slump and shook his head, glancing over at the digital clock mounted on the wall just above the door. 

“It’s nothing.. and my shift starts soon.. I’ll talk to you later.” 

Liam looked reluctant to let him go, but did anyway, nodding slowly and blowing out a long breath. “Okay, but swing by tonight, alright? You’re not getting out of this so easily.” 

Harry grinned softly, giving Liam a small nod. Liam and Niall lived in the same flat, mostly a business arrangement more than anything else. It was unheard of for an omega of their age to be unmated let alone live by themselves without an alpha, so Niall had managed to sweet talk his way into staying with Liam in order to keep the hounds off his back. They both insisted that the door was always open for Harry, knowing that sometimes him being alone was far more dangerous than being with other people, and Liam was usually amazing at knowing when those times were. 

“Yeah, tonight, right. After my shift.” 

With a small nod, Harry flipped around and turned to leave the kitchen uninterrupted this time. 

Now to just make it the next six hours without thinking about piercing blue eyes and offensive smiles. 

Yeah… right.


	3. Chapter 3

"The nerve of some people!" 

Harry was nestled into the far corner of the large leather couch that took up most of the space in the front room of Liam's flat, legs tucked up into his chest as he rested his chin against them. This was his spot, he always claimed it when he came over and since he was pretty sure his bum was permanently imprinted into the leather, neither of the other two argued with him. Niall switched between sitting on the other side of the couch and the large matching black recliner sitting just off to the side. Whichever he didn't take, Liam did, and right then Niall was within kicking distance. 

Which came in handy when Harry threw his foot out to collide with his shin. Didn't stop the fit, however, from continuing his little rant. 

"No I'm serious here, Harry. The absolute nerve of him! You were a total git to him and he still smiled and was nice to you? You have got to be kidding! And he wants to see you again? The complete arse. He should be hung for his crimes." 

"Blow me, Niall" Harry's tone was dry, showing he was not amused, but that didn't seem to phase the other omega either. 

His face contorted into a look of disgust, nose crinkling and eyes squinting. "Ew, no. But! I know who will!" 

Harry snatched up the pillow laying underneath his hip and chucked it at Niall's face, glaring darkly as he watched it smack right into his nose. "Say Louis and I swear I'll break your nose." 

Niall laughed, rubbing at the spot the pillow had hit, giving a cheeky grin once Harry could see him. Laughter from behind him had him glancing up, hand instantly reaching out to take the glass of wine being dangled over his face. Liam looked far too amused with the entire situation, which only served to anger Harry more.

"You have to admit, Hazza, you're overreacting just a bit. The guy was genuinely being nice to you. And from what it sounds like you didn't deserve it." 

Harry huffed and rested back against the couch as Liam moved over to the recliner, managing to curl his large form into a small enough ball that he actually fit in the chair with his legs underneath him. Poor legs were probably screaming for blood already. 

"You two are useless." Harry mumbled, lifting the glass up to his lips and taking a sip of the crimson liquid. "The point is not that he's nice."

"Or gorgeous." Niall interjected. "Let's not forget the piercing blue eyes and smile that got you weak at the knees." 

Harry shot him a look, willing him to suddenly go mute for a few minutes. "Yes, thank you Niall you wanker. Or that he's gorgeous. It's that he's --" 

"An alpha." 

The fact that both Niall and Liam said the sentence in unison had Harry pouting. Did he seriously bitch that much? 

"Exactly. And alphas are nice until the moment they get you at your most vulnerable, then they take what they want with no regard to your wishes." He paused, glancing over at Liam and giving him a small sheepish grin. "No offense." 

Liam looked like he was ready to pitch the glass in his hand at Harry's head, which was all Harry needed to know offense was taken. Oops? 

"Look, all I'm saying is-" 

"We know what you're saying, Haz." Niall had leaned over into Harry's space and was resting his weight against his legs, probably to keep himself in the line of fire should Liam decide that murdering him was worth going to jail for. "You're afraid. You've been hurt before and you're afraid. But did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, this one isn't going to turn into a major arse?" 

Harry didn't want to think about that, because in doing so that meant that he was gonna have to accept the fact that he was just a bitter little omega that was a shit to others for no reason. And his ego did not have a policy for defeat. "He will... They all do." 

"Trying to convince us or yourself?" Liam said, his tone a little less 'I'm going to destroy you' and a little more 'you're an irritating shit' 

His victories just keep getting smaller. 

The next few days went by in a haze, Harry spending most of his time at the diner. He had started taking up double shifts in order to avoid going home and facing the sly remarks from Zayn or the way his mind seemed to drift to Louis every time he wasn't busy. 

Sleep came easier the longer he was on the suppressants, which told him they had done their job on fending off his heat.

At least that helped him relax as he stepped out from behind the counter, plate in hand. He had stopped paying attention to what he was doing and found that his balancing, wasn't all it was cracked up to be when he was suddenly tripping over someone's feet and falling forward. 

"Whoa boy! No need to test gravity, it works." 

Zayn... Of course. 

Harry grimaced as he found his footing, spinning to pin the other with a dark look. "You could have helped." 

"And miss that award winning save? Never." The smirk on the alphas lips spoke trouble for Harry, who in return spun back around and set the plate down in front of a very impatient Beta. 

"What do you want, Zayn?" Harry spoke in a grumbled voice as he swerved around the still grinning wolf to get back behind the counter. 

"You're avoiding me." 

"Catch on did ya? Took ya long enough." Harry's tone matched the same sarcastic drawl Zayn's had when he had used the same line on him earlier that week. 

"Alright, alright. You win that one." 

Zayn admitting defeat? Oh no he wants something. 

Harry sighed and moved to grab at the few mugs sitting abandoned on the counter, twisting to drop them in the sink. "I repeat, what do you want? I'm at work." 

Zayn sighed and moved to sit down on one of the bright red stools that lined the counter, elbows resting against the counter. "Well one, a cup of tea. Two, you were supposed to update me on the status of my birthday cake. You do remember my birthday is next week don't ya?" 

Shit! "Shit.." Well apparently it was agreed throughout. "Zayn I haven't had time to do the wash let alone think about your birthday cake. I'm so sorry, Mate." 

Zayn didn't seem all that surprised, his hand closing around the mug of tea that Harry slid in front of him. "No worries, figured you hadn't had time what with the extra hours and day dreaming you must be doing." 

Harry was starting to truly believe Zayn didn't want to make it to his birthday. "I'll sit down this weekend and plan it out. Boss says I've worked over my allowed hours so I have the weekend off." 

Oh he shouldn't have said that, because something about the cat like grin that creased Zayn's lips had him cringing. 

"Brilliant! You can come with me to go shopping. We need something to wear to my party." 

Harry groaned, shoulders slumping slightly. "You know I don't like going to the shops." 

Zayn nodded, sipping aimlessly at his tea. "And you know I don't care. You're coming. Its formal casual, not beggar on the street." 

"I hate you." 

Something about the way Zayn suddenly sat up straight in his seat had Harry jerking back from him slightly, watching as he quickly lost Zayn's attention to something going on behind him. 

"Who's that?" 

Harry turned around, looking through the serving window into the kitchen. Niall had his hip resting against the preparation counter facing them, and perched on the counter as per usual was Liam, a bright smile curling his lips. 

"The chef? That's Niall." Harry knew full well that wasn't who Zayn was talking about, and from the death glare he got in response, Zayn knew he knew 

"No, you git. The gorgeous one on the counter." 

Chuckling lightly, Harry moved to lean against the counter just next to Zayn, giving him an amused look. 

"Liam. I told you about them before." 

Zayn nodded slowly, the look in his eyes letting Harry know he no longer interested Zayn in the lease. Sighing, he reached out and pinched the other in the side, giving him a sharp look. 

"Hey! He's a good guy." 

Scoffing, Zayn looked over at him and frowned. "And I'm not?" There was a pause before Zayn rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah don't answer that." 

Harry snorted and straightened up, shaking his head slowly. "Just be.. Gentle." 

Zayn's head rolled on his shoulders to give him an over dramatic dull stare, eyebrow quirking up ever so slightly. "Honey, when have I ever been gentle? You hush up and let the grown ups do grown up things. Be ready to go at ten Saturday morning. You're going." 

True to his word, ten rolled around Saturday morning and Harry was in Zayn's car, listening to him absently him along to whatever song played from his iPod through the auxiliary cord. They spent the entire day at the mall, spending far too much money on clothes Harry knew Zayn was only going to wear that one night. He was even forced to try on a new pair of skinny jeans and button up shirt that combined probably cost the price of his flat. The only good thing that came from the trip was the insulted look on Zayn's face when he realized what boots Harry was wearing that ended with him walking out with a new pair of black suede boots. 

"Burn the old ones, please.. For the sake of humankind." 

Harry snorted and nodded, grabbing the two bags that were for him from the backseat of his car. "Yeah, will do. I'll have your cake ready by the party, promise." 

Zayn nodded and waved at him as he slipped out of the car, hustling up the steps that led to his building. 

By the time Monday night came around, Harry was ready to hide under his bed. The skinny jeans seemed to hug his legs a lot tighter than he remembered, the button up form fitting and stretching across his torso as he tucked it into the waistband. The boots zayn had bought him fit perfectly, and for the sake of not ending his life by the hands of the birthday boy, his hair was out of its bun and falling in curls down to his shoulders. Sighing, he slid his glasses off his nose and folded them up, tossing them onto the dresser and sighing. 

"Well... I guess it's time to..." To what? Party? Humiliate himself? Die in a puddle of embarrassment or shame? 

"Time to drink.." He grumbled as he spun around and snatched up his keys, making his way out the door to face whatever catastrophe awaited him at this thing.


	4. Chapter 4

Zayns birthdays were always an event. He didn't do anything halfway and tonight was no exception. 

He had rented out a large club house event hall and decked it out with lights, a buffet table, and even a dance floor. The room was a sea of silver and black banners, lights, and a sound system was set up with a DJ booth in the far corner. The room was always filled with people, some he had met, some he had never seen before in his life. It didn't surprise Harry in the least that Zayn had so many friends, the guy was a social butterfly like no other. 

It just meant that Harry felt ten time more uncomfortable being in that room without his usual jumper to hide underneath. Zayn owed him big one. 

And speaking of the birthday boy, Zayn was standing near the buffet surrounded by a large group of people, talking animatedly, hand gestures and all. He spotted Harry within moments, however, and was quickly excusing himself and pushing through the disappointed looking crowd 

Suck it, Arseholes, he likes me more. 

Zayn was smiling brightly when he got to him, which was odd. What was worse was when he got within arms reach of Harry, he was tugging him in for a large hug, chin hooking on his shoulder and arms squeezing him hard enough he was sure he popped a button somewhere. 

"You came!" Zayn was still beaming as he pulled away, holding Harry out at arm's length. "And the cake? Bloody brilliant. You're a saint." 

Harry's attention moved to the table at the end of the buffet, a large 3 layered cake sitting in the middle. It was decorated with the symbols of all of Zayns favorite superheros with black and silver icing. Harry had been warned in advance about the colour scheme. Zayn had managed to convince his cousin and one of his sisters to come and pick it up this morning before Harry had even been willing to wake up, so he was glad it made it in one piece.

"Yeah no problem, and of course I came. When have I ever missed a birthday?" Harry's expression was scrutinizing, his distrust of this bright attitude showing. "What's got you so happy?" 

Zayn snorted and looked almost offended. "Can't I just be happy to see my best mate?' 

Harry watched him a moment, eyebrow lifting before he spoke. "No." 

That earned him a sharp shove that nearly knocked him over. That was more like it. 

"You actually dressed up. That's brilliant. Was afraid you'd show up in your normal get up. This will do so much better." 

That got the Omega's eyes narrowing, head tilting slightly. "Do much better for what?" 

They were interrupted just then by an arm suddenly falling onto Harry's shoulder, the young wolf being yanked into a tight side hug. Looking up, he frowned when he saw Liam beaming at him. 

"Liam? What the?" 

If liam looked pleased with himself, Zayn looked like he was about to somersault. "I invited him." 

Shooting Zayn a sharp look he scoffed. "When?" 

"Last night. He swung by the diner right as I was closing up and asked if I'd come. Couldn't turn this chance down." Liam was still beaming, and Harry was starting to feel like he was in the middle of some cruel joke he wasn't aware of yet. 

"What chance?" 

Zayn stepped over just then, snatching him from Liam's hold and resting his hands on his shoulders. "Okay, few things I need to go over before anything else. Don't be mean, remember to smile, your dimples are so nice, and don't kill me because its my birthday and that's not okay." 

And with that he released him and grabbed liam by the hand, giving him a very flirtatious smile. "You seen the cake yet?" Liam shook his head, his beam sliding into a sly grin. "Harry baked it, it's brilliant. Come along." 

Harry glared at him, but the look was far more confused than anything else. "What the hell Zayn?" He called after him, but the two didn't even hesitate in their hasty exit from.. From what? 

Just then someone tapped on his shoulder and cleared their throat. Sighing, he turned around and suddenly knew exactly why they looked so damn smug. 

Louis stood a few feet back, a pair of black dress jeans hugging his slim legs. He had on a white button up that was loosely tucked into the waistband of the pants. He had the sleeves rolled up and a pair silver braces running down his torso. 

Who the fuck invented those? They should be executed. 

"Harry, hey." 

Oh lord it spoke... And it remembers his name. 

He cursed the day twenty Three years ago today that Zayn Malik was let into this blasted world. 

It took him a moment to realize he hadn't said anything and Louis was watching him with amusement. "Oh-uh.. Hi." 

Smooth Styles. I'm sure he wants you now.

Louis didn't seem phased, his smile only creasing up higher on his face. "You look amazing. Very different from the last time I saw you." 

Harry glanced down at himself, suddenly very self conscious about what he was wearing. Or at least more than he already was.

"Uh- thanks, Zayn dragged me out to get it. I didn't want to go. Being around people have never been my thing" And now you're antisocial. You're really doing great here Harry, he should be yours any moment now.

Nodding slowly, Louis let his tongue poke out to drag across his lower lip, and for the love of wine, Harry couldn't help but follow the motion intently with his eyes. Oh fuck you, Louis Tomlinson. 

"People aren't all that fun to be around most days, I've found. Its why I mostly hide out in my office."

Oh he's not running? He's actually making conversation? Quick harry, ask him a question! 

"So you have an office." 

Ladies and gents, the next James Bond. 

Louis chuckled lightly and nodded, hands moving to rest casually on his hips. "I do, yes. Sorta comes with the job. You should come by sometime. Take a look around." 

No no no nope no, not happening, why so he can imagine how good it would be to be bent over the desk? I don't think so. "Yeah, maybe I will." Harry you wanker. 

That seemed to excite Louis, his gaze lighting up and smile widening. "Yeah? Brilliant. Mind coming with me to go get a drink?" 

All Harry could do was shake his head numbly and move into step behind the alpha as he turned and started his way through the crowd. They passed by Zayn and Liam holding back a fit of laughter pressed into each other and whispering. Louis smiled pleasantly at them, harry swatted them both sharply on the chest. The look in his eyes promised death to both of them. 

Louis wasn't all that bad.. In fact he was a dream come true. He was easy to talk to, picking up a new topic every time Harry let the old one drop, which was a lot, and at one point actually managed to get Harry out on the dance floor with him. Which was an experience that Harry was never going to think about again. 

Two hours later and a lot of treading on feet, it was time for the cake, and Zayn was shoved in the spotlight. Not like the idiot minded much, his expression lighting up like New Years and his gaze flicking around to the room of people singing a rousing verse of Happy birthday in a million different pitches that didn’t mix at all and had Harry cringing. 

By the end of it, Zayn was leaning over the large cake and blowing out the many candles someone had placed along the edges of the cake, the entire room erupted into applause and Harry watched as Liam came up behind Zayn and whispered something in his ear that had the wolf smirking wide and looking back at him. Well, he knew what they were going to be doing that night.

Harry had been prepared the entire night for Louis to suddenly find someone more worth his time, or to get tired of carrying the conversation and just leave, but he never did. He never seemed to lose that interested glint in his eyes or that small smile that always seemed present on those perfect lips. The arse was a flipping saint and it was making everything so much harder. 

After everyone else had gone back to the festivities, Harry felt a hand pressing into the small of his back, his gaze flicking over to examine Louis as he came in closer. He was close enough that Harry could feel the heat radiating off his body seeping in through his clothes, the way his fingers curled into his shirt slightly sending a shiver down his spine and making it hard to think. Being near him period made it hard to think. Louis leaned in close, lips hovering mere inches from the shell of his ear and his breath was warm and teasing against his skin.

“Come outside with me?” 

All Harry could do was nod, resisting the urge to press back into his hand and melt into his touch. All too soon, the hand was gone, instead moving to grip his arm lightly and help lead him out the large sliding doors that lead to the back porch. It was late by then, the sky dark. The only true lighting came from the lights draped around the railings. The sounds from the party inside were muffled the moment the door closed behind them, making it far easier for Harry to pretend it was just him and Louis. 

Oh don’t do that..

“Nice, huh?” 

“Hm?” Harry glanced over at Louis who was giving him an amused grin and frowned before it registered what he said, a flush creeping up the back of his neck. “Oh, uh.. yeah it is. I’ve always liked it at night. Far better than the day.” 

Louis nodded and moved to rest his arms against the railing, bent over the wood in a completely unfair stance that had Harry’s gaze wondering. “I agree.. more peaceful..” there was a pause, and it was almost like Harry wasn’t there at all

and holy shit it was beautiful. 

The dim lighting only seemed to make Louis fine features stand out more against the dark background, his lips formed into a soft pout that Harry was sure was just his natural look. His hair, styled in a way that was messy completely on purpose, seemed to have flattened out slightly during the excitement of the night, and there was a slight flush to his cheeks that only served to give him a more boyish look. The curve of his back was easily seen with the way the shirt pulled against him because of his position, and Harry couldn’t, and wouldn’t, stop the way he eyes traveled down to trace the large curve of his behind. 

He was in such trouble. 

“You know.. I was actually rather surprised when i got the invite to this.” 

Harry’s gaze snapped back over to Louis’ face to find he had turned his attention to him once again. If he had noticed the way Harry was ogling him he didn’t say anything or even look like he minded, his gaze soft. 

“Really? I thought you and Zayn were close. You seemed like you were when I first met you.” Harry was moving, walking over to the chair closest to Louis and settling down, arms resting against the armrests loosely. 

“Nah. We’ve spoken a few times, mostly business and such, but never anything to where I thought he’d want me at his birthday party.” 

Yeah… well I can give you one reason he’d want you here.

“Well, maybe he’s gone completely mad.” 

That got Louis laughing, his eyebrow arching as he straightened up. “Oh? Is that the only reason he’d want me here?” 

Harry nodded and grinned, chuckling softly. “Absolutely. You’re boring. I’ve been trying to keep myself awake all night, but lord you make it hard. He’s gone completely bonkers to want you here.” 

Snorting, Louis shook his head and turned to rest his back against the railing. “Oh shut up you absolute git. You’re a real piece of work you know that?” 

Harry laughed and shrugged, a look of pure innocence written over his face. “I try.” 

They both laughed, letting it fade into a comfortable silence as they sat there, Louis gaze on the glass door that let them see inside and Harry’s on Louis. He didn’t look away when Louis turned to look at him, eyebrow arching at the smile etched on those lips. 

“Give me your number.” 

That caught Harry completely by surprise, eyes widening as he straightened up. “W-what?” 

Louis grinned, clearly pleased with himself in shocking the other. “Give.me.your.number. I want to be able to contact you whenever I want.” 

Standing up, Harry tilted his head on the side, looking bewildered. “You’re used to getting what you want, aren’t ya?” 

Louis noded, hands resting on his hips once again. “Yeup, so come on, gimme.” 

That got him laughing, the boyish smile on the others lips infectious. “No.” 

That got the other, his expression turning shocked. “What?” 

Harry had no idea where the sudden burst of confidence had come from, but he was running with it, slowly sauntering closer to Louis with a wide grin. “No.. if you want my number, you’re gonna have to work for it.” 

Something shifted in Louis’ gaze, the blue in his eyes darkening and the set of his jaw tightening as he pressed in a little closer. “Is that so?” He practically purred the words out, his body so close to Harry’s he could practically feel him, every nerve ending in Harry’s body coming to alert at the closeness. 

“Yeup. You’re not gonna get this so easily rich boy. This you’re gonna have to earn.” 

Chuckling softly, the alpha nodded, tongue slipping out to run along his upper lip ever so slowly, and holy shit it was like he knew what that did to him. 

“Well then, I look forward to doing just that..” He leaned in, almost like he was going to kiss Harry and for a brief moment, his heart stopped in his chest, blood running cold and breath catching deep in his throat. Louis’ smile turned almost cat like, almost like he knew what he was doing.. probably because the wanker did. “I’ll get your number eventually..” 

He was so close, all Harry had to do was lean in an inch and they’d be touching, the aching in his chest would be soothed. But he didn’t dare, and Louis didn’t seem to be all that eager to do it either. “You sure about that?” 

He just nodded, that smile never leaving his lips as he slowly backed up and started to back up towards the doors. He shot Harry a small wink before he was turning away and slipping back inside, leaving the omega alone with his thoughts. 

Oh shit… what did he just do?

The next morning, Harry still hadn’t slept, pacing back and forth across the length of his flat. Which honestly wasn’t all that far, but still impressive when he felt like he was about to swoon. 

He didn’t seriously just basically guarantee that he would be seeing Louis again, did he? Nah, only someone mad would do that.. he wasn’t mad.. was he? His instant thought was yes and that had him grimacing, eyes rolling as he came to a stop in front of the coffee table, glaring down at his phone as if it had done some horrible injustice to him. Which honestly wasn’t fair to his phone, but the person he wanted to glare at wasn’t there, so he had to deal with what he had. 

Or.. he could call the prick he wanted to be screaming at. 

Snatching up his phone, he practically cracked his screen with how hard he tapped onto the contacts button, Zayn’s number the first one in his favorites. Putting the phone up to his ear, he resumed his pacing. For a moment he thought Zayn wasn’t going to answer and he was fully prepared to leave a rather rude message, when the git finally picked up. 

“What!” 

The sharp tone had Harry pausing, eyebrow arching as he suddenly felt very offended. Whoa buddy, i’m the upset one here. “Wow grouchy.” 

A small sound of frustration prefaced a lot of shuffling and Harry just let out a long breath. “Well, Harold, you sort of caught me at a bad.. time.” 

It took Harry a moment to put two and two together. It wasn’t until a groan sounded in the background that it finally clicked and Harry let out a loud sound of indignation.

“Oh Zayn! You answered the phone while you were shagging someone! That’s so wrong!” 

Zayn laughed, the sound cut off by a soft sound and Harry was praying for sudden death to finally release him from his cursed existence. 

“We’re not.. shagging exactly. The couch is leather, I don’t need that burn on my bum.” 

Harry groaned and shook his head, hand covering his face. “I need brain bleach to rid myself of that image.” 

A loud sound from the other end of the call had him grimacing, head shaking as he huffed. “You know what.. call me back later… We so need to talk.” 

His response was a small grunt and then the line went dead. 

This week just keeps getting better and better.

Sighing, he tossed his phone onto the couch, tried not to heave from the mental image now seared into his brain, and shook his head, moving towards the bedroom. A nice long shower was exactly what he needed.. an innocent shower where he would not think about Louis hands running down his body.. or his lips pressing into his neck as he whimpered for more and clutched onto the wolf's upper arms for support. 

Yeup.. totally not gonna do that.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days went by without much excitement. Unless you count Harry walking into the boy's restroom in the middle of his shift at the diner to find Zayn perched on the counter, head thrown back and mouth parted in a silent moan as Liam rested on his knees between his thighs, exciting. Harry didn’t stay long enough to get a very good look at what was going on, but he did know that he suddenly had a phobia of public bathrooms. 

Neither Zayn nor Liam seemed at all ashamed of their sexapades, just laughing it off whenever either Harry or Niall came around the corner to find them snogging against the wall, or pushed into Liam’s flat to find them rolling around on the couch. But Harry was more than a little mortified. 

“He’s an alpha, Zayn.” 

Harry’s tone was stern, eyes narrowed as he leaned back against the headboard of Zayn’s large bed, watching as the other busied himself with his hair in the bathroom just off to the side. The door was open, and all Harry could really see was his back, but it was enough. And he didn’t have to see him to know that he was scowling when he spoke. 

“What’s your point?” Zayn snapped, leaning back enough that he could shoot Harry a dirty look. 

Rolling his eyes, he shifted off the mattress and moved into the medium sized bathroom, perching himself on top the closed toilet lid with a huff. “You’re an alpha.” 

That only seemed to irritate Zayn more, his face pinched as he returned his fingers to styling his hair. “Congrats, Harold, you officially just pointed out the obvious.” 

Reaching out to shove at Zayn’s hip, he barely managed to snatch his hand back before he was smacked with what was sure to be a bruising blow by the sound of it as it whipped through the air.

“Zayn seriously, Alpha’s can’t be together. It doesn’t work. You’ll kill each other.” Harry tried to hide the actual concern in his tone, but Zayn had been his best friend since he was a small boy, always standing up for him when kids picked on him, and sticking by him when he had needed him most in his teens. He was genuinely just worried for the other. 

“We aren’t together, Hazza. It’s just sex.. amazing, mind blowing, earth shattering sex.” that got a groan from Harry, which served to get Zayn smiling as he looking over at him. “Oh come off it, how many times did I have to listen about all the amazing sex you’ve had?” 

Harry made a face and leaned back against the back of the toilet, arms crossing over his chest. He had thrown on one of Zayn’s jumpers when he arrived, randomly popping over after his morning run and feeling almost naked without something more than a tank top covering him. Zayn never made a fuss about it, letting him take any part of his wardrobe without asking. He still had one of Zayn’s old t shirts from when they were younger that he wore to bed sometimes. 

“I haven’t had any kind of sex in a long time, let alone mind blowing.” 

Zayn dropped his hands once he was satisfied that his hair looked perfect and turned to rest his hip against the edge of the counter, peering down at Harry like he was a total lunatic. “You could be! If you’d just stop being a git and let me give your number to Louis.” 

“He’s been asking you?” Harry’s tone was a lot sharper than he had intended, which didn’t help him when it came to trying to pretend like he didn’t give a flying fuck about Louis or his damn perfect smile. 

“Of course he has! He calls me every day and mentions you at least once. Come on, Haz, you can’t keep torturing him like this.” 

Harry moved to get up, hands stuffed into the front pockets of the jumper, and lips curled into a soft grin. “Yes I can.” 

No he couldn’t, because the next day, Harry pushed out of the kitchen just as he got into work and found his path blocked by a smaller male that looked far too smug for his own damn good. 

“Remind me to skin Zayn alive.” Harry’s tone was dry as he swerved around Louis, pushing through the small swinging door that cut off the main floor and behind the counter. Louis laughed softly, twisting to keep an eye on him as he moved to sit down on one of the stools. 

“I didn’t leave him much choice. Told him i’d revoke his rights to my interview if he didn’t at least tell me where you worked. Not like I was getting anything from you.” Louis' tone didn’t sound annoyed or even remotely frustrated, it was pleasant, his light voice sending chills down the back of Harry’s neck and making it hard to breathe. 

“There was a reason for that.” Harry spoke before he could even stop to think about what he was saying, noticing that flash of interest in Louis’ gaze as he tilted his head to the side.

“Oh? And why was that?” Louis asked, voice a soft purr as he moved to rest his elbow against the counter, chin resting against the heel of his hand. 

Mr. Tomlinson, kindly fuck off. 

He just shrugged, mumbling something incoherently underneath his breath as he moved to snatch up an empty mug and set it into the small sink, shifting to start up a kettle for the tea. He felt Louis eyes on him the entire time, trying to ignore the way his gaze made his skin tingle and the temperature underneath his jumper suddenly went up a few more degrees than normal, making it feel like it was suffocating him. But fuck taking it off, that was not happening. Not when he had nothing but a skin tight black tank on underneath. 

“I’m sorry, but was that proper english?” Louis’ tone was bright and taunting as he dropped both of his hands to lace his fingers together and rest them against the cool counter top. Those fingers were so long, so strong looking, and for the love of God he wanted them on him. 

The jumper wasn’t getting any more comfortable, and now neither was his skinny jeans, making him shift slightly in his spot against the counter. “Nope. It was a special dialect that only I know the meaning of.”

Louis nodded slowly, teeth nursing the corner of his lip in a soft hold that had Harry staring. Okay he was gonna need to find a way to stop being a total creep around this guy. Dipping down, he snatched up a rag and a bottle of cleaner and busied himself with wiping off the counter until he found himself in front of Louis again, doing his best to drag the rag around his hands without touching him. Something that was a moot point the moment Louis reached out to cover his one hand with both of his own.

Oh shit. They were softer than he remembered. 

"Go out with me." 

What? "No."

It was such an instant reaction that Harry hadn't even fully registered what Louis had asked before he was saying it. 

"No?" Louis raised an eyebrow, head tilting to the side. He looked precious like that, the dim lighting casting shadows across his features in a way that actually seemed to outline every finer detail of his face. 

Clearing his throat, Harry did his best to ignore the painful tightening in his chest. Why was he doing this? Louis was nice, he was so sweet, and he actually wanted him. Him. Harry styles. No one had ever openly wanted him, not since... 

No, he wouldn't think about that. But maybe he should, because look at how that ended.. There was no way this was going to be any different. None. Louis was nice now, but what happens when Harry doesn't give him what he wants when he wants it? He's an alpha, it's in his nature to be on top and to lead. And as much as it was in Harry's to be led, it wasn't. 

So he had to stand by his words, keep his resolve, and for the sake of his sanity get his hand out from under Louis'. Slipping his hands away, he turned and busied himself with making some tea, moving to take an order from a timid looking omega who was sitting at the far end of the counter and glancing at Louis as if he was going to lunge at her. 

Same, love. Same. 

Only difference was, there was a high possibility that Louis will lunge over the counter at him, especially with the way he was eyeing him the entire time he was busy. By the time he was back in front of him, Louis looked ready to pounce.

"You said no to me." Louis said, tone bemused. 

Nodding, Harry rested his hands on the counter, teeth clicking together. "Yes, I did. Heard that did ya?" Just play it cool, you've got this styles. 

"Why?" 

Harry snorted and gave him a slanted grin. "Why did I say no? Why do most people say no to date requests? Or more like orders in that case." 

Louis shook his head, seeming to be completely bewildered by the whole situation. He was most definitely not used to being told no it seemed. 

"You fascinate me, Harry. You're very.. Different than I'm used to.." Louis spoke absentmindedly. Almost like he wasn't talking to him at all and more to himself. "I like it though, and I will climb over that very large wall you have built around you." 

Now he was talking to him. "Good luck with that. I've heard it's like the Great Wall of china." 

Louis laughed and moved to stand up, reaching out to snatch Harry's hand and pull it over the counter. Before Harry truly knew what was happening, Louis had a pen out and was scribbling something across his palm. When he pulled back, he gave him a large smile. "I'm willing to brave the climb. Call me on my mobile sometime.. Anytime."

And with that he was spinning around and heading out of the diner. Looking down at his palm he narrowed his gaze as he looked over the phone number written in blue ink, Louis' name with a small winky face scribbled underneath. Louis was sly, he'd give him that. 

But that was all he was willing to give him, and he told himself that the entire way home that night. That didn't stop him from programming the alphas number into his mobile, telling himself that just because he kept the number didn't mean he'd be obligated to actually use it. It also didn't stop the shit eating grin that refused to leave his lips throughout the rest of the day. 

He wanted him. The Louis Tomlinson, fashion icon and millionaire, wanted Harry. He had made that completely clear today and there was no way Harry could psych himself out of this one. Louis truly did want him. 

"That doesn't mean much, does it?" 

Harry was curled up in bed, book resting open in his lap and phone pressed to his ear. Niall was sitting out on the balcony of his and Liam's flat and had thankfully answered the phone when Harry called, seeing as Zayn had appeared for the fourth night in a row and neither of the alphas seemed to care that the omega was there as they went at it against the kitchen counter. 

"Haz, come on. He could have anyone he wants, male and female alike and he is fawning over you." 

Harry grimaced, snapping his book shut and pushing it off his lap. "He only wants me because he can't have me." He grumbled, sinking more fully into his blankets. 

Niall laughed softly and Harry could just picture him with his legs draped over the balcony edge, swaying back and forth. "This could be true, but you'll never know unless you give it a try, mate. Could be the real thing."

Harry scoffed, shaking his head regardless of the fact that Niall couldn't see him. "Right, and Liam and Zayn will actually work out." 

That had Niall laughing, a true loud Niall laugh, the bright sound infectious and bringing a grin to Harry's lips. 

"Hey man, ya never know, they could fall madly in love and live happily ever after." Niall's tone shook from his chuckles. 

"Is this before or after one of them kills the other for dominance?" 

They both laughed at that one, the sound dying off into a comfortable silence. After a few heartbeats, Harry let out a long sigh and looked back down at his hand where the pen was still barely visible against his paled tone. 

"I'm not going to call him." His tone was stern, jaw set. 

"Alright. It's your choice." 

He nodded slowly, happy that Niall didn't try to talk him into it. The blond always seemed to know when he just needed someone to be on his side, to be there for him and just let him vent. 

"Thanks Nialler." 

The responding grunt was all Harry needed to know they were done with the conversation, pulling the phone away and hitting end before tossing it away. 

Sitting up, he reached out and pulled the suppressants from the drawer. He examined them, twisting the bottle in his hand slowly. 

He hated the way they changed his mood, making it harder for him to care, harder for him to truly be a part of the world, but in the end they helped him where they were needed. Twisting the cap off, he knocked two into his hand and knocked them back, snatching up his water and taking a large gulp before setting everything back where it needed to go. 

His birthday was coming up, and the prospect of seeing his mum and sister again was the only thing that kept him sane now a days, and he clung onto that little bit of positivity as he got up and stripped down, turn the shower on as hot as he could stand it. 

Stepping in, he let the almost scalding water wash away his stress, the water sliding down his back and over his shoulders to his chest. Tipping his head back, he ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed. Unfortunately, with his stress gone came the images. 

Oh god, no.. 

He couldn't stop his mind once it started however, and before he knew it the water on his back was no longer water, but Louis' firm chest, pressing into him and holding him in place. The droplets on his shoulders was his soft lips, kissing and sucking at the slick skin there. And holy shit he wanted it, wanted Louis, and there was no longer any self control left in him. 

His hands glided down his torso, fingers splaying out across his abdomen and trailing south until he could wrap his fingers around himself, and the shudder that went up his spine was blissful. A shuddering sound slipped from his lips as his hand started to work himself, tugging and squeezing in all the ways he knew his body needed to finish as soon as possible. 

Within minutes he was gasping out his release, shoulder resting against the cold tile next to him and hips jutting forward against his palm and breath coming in heavy pants. Resting his head against the tile, he groaned and shook his head, hand releasing himself and body going slack under the onslaught of hot water. 

By the time he was curled back into bed he was ready to hold his pillow over his face and put himself out of his misery. With a heavy sigh, he reached over and turned off the light, willing himself to fall into a peaceful sleep. Which of course, didn't happen. Instead he got a night full of soft kisses and needy touches that had him waking up in a cold sweat and panting. Seriously, he needed to be put out of his misery.


	6. Chapter 6

Ever since that night, Harry hadn’t spent much time in showers, finding it a lot easier to keep his head on straight if he didn’t let himself repeat those certain events. 

It wasn’t like it truly mattered much. He had noticed the change in him, the shift in his mood that was usually when he decided to stop taking the little pink pills of death, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. He needed them, the constant state of wanting always seeming to send his wolf into a needy stupor whenever he was off them long enough and he couldn’t let that happen. So he kept taking them, ignored the fact that he could feel his grip on himself slipping, and tried to keep showers short and pg. 

He was just stepping into the shower early Monday morning when the door burst open and a familiar scent assaulted him. 

“Fuck men!” 

Zayn’s irritated tone reverberated off the tile walls of the bathroom as Harry let out a long breath. He wasn’t in the right mindset to deal with another famous Zayn Malik rampage about the injustice of the male brain, he just wasn’t. 

If Zayn could feel his irritation, he didn’t let on, pacing back and forth across the expanse of the rather small bathroom, paying no attention to the fact that Harry was naked in the shower just a few inches from him. He never did. 

“I mean for fuck sake, it’s not like it’s that hard to grasp. It’s just sex! Why the fuck does he have to put a damn label on it?” his voice lowered to what Harry could only assume was supposed to be a mocking of Liam’s voice, and for the most part he was spot on, a bit more whiny than he had ever heard Liam get, but still good. “‘I want to know what we are’ what kind of bullshit is that? Completely ruined my orgasm too. Fuck!” 

When the bathroom went silent besides the steady beat of water against the shower floor, Harry pushed the shower curtain to the side enough to poke his head out and raised an eyebrow, a damp curl falling in front of his eyes. “Ya done?” 

Zayn shot him a dark look and plopped down on top the closed lid of the toilet. “No.. but I can tell you’re in a mood.” 

Rolling his eyes, Harry dipped back into the shower and tried to busy himself with working suds into his hair. And it worked, until the curtain of the shower was ripped back and he had a very flustered Zayn staring at him. He didn’t even flinch, his shoulders slumping as he dropped his hands to his sides and looked over at the male, neither of them seeming to give the lack of clothing on Harry’s part much thought. 

“Help me here, Harold!”   
Blowing out a long breath, Harry reached out to grab a hold of the shower curtain from Zayn and ripped it from his grip, snapping it back into place so that he’d have some sort of privacy while finishing up his shower. “What am i supposed to do to help, Zayn? I told you last week that this wasn’t going to work out. I told you that you were in over your head, you decided to blow off my warning and keep it up. Now you get to deal with the fact that Liam wants more.” 

He didn’t have to see Zayn to know he was scowling at him through the curtain, and honestly he couldn’t be arsed to care, he had tried to warn the other. 

“Either put a label on it or break it off. Honestly, it’s not that hard.” 

The scoff he heard sounded more disgusted with him and not with the situation, his gaze flicking over to see the shadow of the other retreat away from standing right in front of the shower. “What’s gotten your knickers in an unbreakable twist?” 

Grumbling something about irritating friends under his breath, Harry finished washing out the last of the soap off of him before he turned to turn the faucet off, pushing the curtain back and pointing to his towel that was folded on the counter next to Zayn, who grabbed it and threw it at his chest. 

“Nothing had my knickers twisted, i’m just being honest.” he said, running the towel through his hair before moving to wrap it around his waist. 

“Well stop it! I need you to be mortified that he’d even suggest putting a label on it like I am. You remember how to be a supportive friend, yeah?” 

Stepping from the shower he gave Zayn a dull stare for a moment before he worked up his best mock hurt expression, throwing himself down into Zayn’s lap as best he could without letting the towel drop. “Oh the absolute horror Zayn! Liam actually wants to be in a relationship with you? He doesn’t just like you for your big cock and tight arse? What? Where is he, let’s go lynch him.” a sharp shove to his side had him rolling off Zayn’s lap and onto the cold floor, landing with a thud on his back. He didn’t move to get up, just watched Zayn stand up and shoot him a look.

“You’re a complete arse sometimes, you know that?” rolling his eyes, he pushed out of the bathroom. 

Harry could hear him fiddling around in his kitchen when he finally left the bathroom and slipped on a pair of jeans. He didn’t bother with a shirt seeing as it was only Zayn in the flat, and padded out barefoot to see Zayn pouring himself a very large glass of whiskey out of a half empty bottle that Harry had come to see as his new best friend the last few nights. 

“Ahhh does someone not like it when their best friend feeds them snide comments about their business? Couldn’t see how that could get annoying.”   
Zayn turned to give Harry the most lethal look Zayn Malik could muster up and knocked back more than half the glass. “Seriously, mate, the fuck is wrong with you?” 

Harry sighed and shrugged, moving to pull open the fridge and snatch out a bottle of water. “Nothing, just stress I guess. I’ve been taking more hours at the Diner and my mum has been calling every night to make sure i’m prepared for her and Gemma’s stay. They pushed it up three times so that they’re gonna be here tomorrow and I just,” he sighed and shrugged again, leaning back against the counter, avoiding Zayn’s eyes, “It’s been a long few days.” Setting the bottle down untouched, he looked up at Zayn, doing his best to make himself look sympathetic. “Look, you and Liam are great together. Even if it’s just sex, you’re fantastic with one another. You’re a lot happier now a days. If he wants a label, but one on it. Just friends who shag. If he’s okay with it, then bloody brilliant. If he’s not, drop him. He’s not worth your time.” a pause came before he added. “Just please don’t do it in a way that makes my life horrible. He’s still my mate.” 

That was the last time Harry saw Zayn for the rest of the week, and true to their word his mum was breezing through the door to his flat the next morning bright and early, her smile only seeming to brighten as she looked over Harry. 

“Harry! It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you.” with a sharp tug, Harry was suddenly engulfed in her arms, and he didn’t mind it much, snuggling into her familiar embrace and letting his lips curl into a barely there smile. 

“Missed you too, mum.” his voice was soft as he held onto her as tightly as he could without giving it away just how much he needed to be in her arms. She knew however, he could see it in the way she looked at him when he pulled back. 

“Miss me?” 

The familiar voice had Harry glancing behind his mums shoulder at his sister as she pushed in through the front door, a bright smile on her lips. 

“Absolutely not. Was kinda hoping mum would have shoved you off in the middle of the drive.” Harry grinned when Gemma swatted at him, letting her pull him into a tight embrace as she held onto him. 

“You’re a shit, Harry.” the fond tone in Gemma’s voice had Harry chuckling softly, pulling back and holding her out at arm's length. 

“And you’re all grown up. When the hell did that happen?” 

Anne laughed from behind them, giving Harry a sideways look. “S’what happens when you’re never around, Harry Styles.”   
Harry pursed his lips and held his hands up in surrender, turning so that he could see them both. “Alright, I give. I’ll visit more often.” 

Nodding her head in approval, Anne started to move around the flat, doing what she always did when she came over, checking to make sure he wasn’t going to kill himself in a random burst of Harry Styles clumsiness. 

He had always loved seeing his mum, Gemma he could do without some days, but he loved her just the same. Anne had been his rock throughout his childhood, keeping him in line and making him feel like a complete wanker when he stepped even a toe over it. She was a sweet woman, and honestly the two in front of him were the only two women he'd ever admit to loving. He couldn't stop the fond smile that etched over his lips as he watched Anne move, his gaze soft when she turned to look at him. 

She must have seen it in his eyes, because before he knew it he was in her arms again, her embrace far softer this time. 

"You look good, mum." His voice was muffled, face buried in her hair and breathing in the familiar scent of the same shampoo she had used for years. It was so good to know some things never changed. 

"You do too, baby. Now, tell me what's been going on." 

And that's how the three of them ended up curled up in his bed, Harry tucked in Anne's side with Gemma spread out across both their legs, a few bags of chips that Gemma had snagged on the way there laying half eaten and forgotten between them. Harry told them about the diner, liam and niall whom they met last year at his birthday party, and even went into a full rant about Zayn and his stupidity over getting involved with another alpha. He had purposely left out any mention of Louis, still not sure what that situation meant and didn't feel like trying to explain it to either of them. 

"Yeah but that's always been Zayn." Gemma said through a fit of giggles brought on by Harry's dramatic reenactment of the shower fiasco the morning before. "Always wants what he can't have." 

Harry laughed and nodded slowly, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "That's the thing, Gem. I truly think he could have Liam if he wanted him." 

Anne pursed her lips and gave him a sideways look. She was a Beta, which made it so she was far more level headed than her two omega children and the idiot alpha she had practically adopted with how often Zayn came around. "You know why that wouldn't work, Harry." 

He nodded slowly and sighed. "Yeah, I do, but doesn't mean they couldn't find a way." 

"They could always get themselves an omega. Share them when they are in rut." Gemma had found the bag of chips closest to her and was searching for the biggest piece she could find, making a lot of noise in the process. 

"You just say that because you had a thing for Liam." Harry mused, eyebrow arching as he watched his sister. 

She shot him a dirty look and huffed, giving up on her mission for a decent sized snack. "Shut up. I'm being serious. I've heard it be done before. Two alphas are together, but they have an omega that they share between them. They can still be together but when the time comes for them to need an omega they have one there willing. Kinda like one of those poly something or another relationships." 

That had Harry and Anne laughing, both of them shaking their head at Gemma with amusement. 

Harry wouldn't deny that it was a good idea and he made a mental note to mention it to Zayn the next time he saw him, which wasn't until his birthday dinner. 

Harry had on the same outfit he had worn to Zayn's party, not having anything else that his mother deemed acceptable for a proper family dinner. And he had to admit he was thankful for his mum's insistence when they stepped into the dimly lit restaurant that Zayn had insisted they go to.   
Zayn and Liam were sitting on opposite sides of the table, which had Harry thinking up multiple scenarios as to what could have happened there, Niall sat to Liam's right and Liam's best mate Andy had even showed up with a bright fond smile sitting to Liam's left. 

Zayn stood up and instantly yanked Harry's mum into a tight embrace, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "Lovely to see you again, mum." 

Anne smiled softly and returned the hug, hand coming up to cup the back of his head to give him that special hug that always made you feel like the most cherished person in the room. "Lovely to see you too, Zayn baby. You and Harry need to stop being such strangers." 

Pulling back from her, Zayn smiled and nodded in agreement, stepping back enough so that Anne could greet Liam and Niall, the beta giving them both a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. 

They all settled down, harry between Zayn and his mum, with Gemma on Zayn's other side between him and Niall and for a while, things are pleasant. The conversation would switch from topic to topic, from Liam's new management position, to how Niall was planning on opening up his own restaurant. Which he, to Harry's great dismay, offered to let Gemma help with. Things were good, he was happy. 

Until Zayn's newest article came up. 

"Oh yeah, its set to release tomorrow. Honestly its one of my finer works." Zayn seemed far too pleased with himself, picking at the salad in front of him. 

"Is Louis really as amazing as everyone says?" Gemma had been on the edge of her seat the moment the name 'Louis Tomlinson' was brought up, saying that she had always wanted to meet him but he was a hard man to get a hold of. Unless you're Zayn Malik.

Or apparently now Harry Styles. 

"He's a decent lad, yeah. Donates a lot of money to the magazine every year and saved us from shutting down. So I can't complain about him."

Bet you can't, Zayn. 

"Harry actually got to meet him. Did the photoshoot for the magazine." Zayn continued, eyeing Harry amusedly. 

Burst into flames, burst into flames, burst into flames. 

"Ow!" Harry jerked his attention towards Gemma when her foot collided painfully with his shin. "What the bloody hell was that for?" 

Gemma huffed, giving him a dirty look. "You didn't mention you met Louis Tomlinson." 

Shrugging casually, Harry leaned back, abandoning the food on his plate. He hadn't had much of an appetite the last week, and he could see it was starting to concern his mum from the way she gave him a sideways glance. "Didn't know it was something to make a fuss about. All I did was take his picture." 

"And you spent Zayns birthday with him. Don't forget that. I saw you two go outside together." Liam interjected, mindlessly chewing the piece of over priced steak he had ordered. 

You can burst into flames too. 

"Oh?" That seemed to have caught Anne's attention, her body twisting to face Harry. 

"Well.. Yeah. We spent some time together at Zayn's party. But honestly, its nothing." He shrugged, trying desperately to brush it off as nothing. 

"Don't forget that time he came to the diner and gave you his number." Niall spoke up with a mouth full of god only knew what and got himself a swift kick under the table. "Oi! What? Its important information."

A sound from across from him had Harry looking over at Gemma who looked about ready to stroke. "Oh my god, Harry! You have to let me meet him. Come on. When do I ever ask you for anything." 

Arching an eyebrow, Harry gave her a look that said she didn't want him to answer that question. 

"I'd definitely like to meet him." Anne was leaning in far enough that her shoulder touched Harry's, and for the love of god he was being cornered. This was how a caged animal felt. 

He made a mental note to boycott zoo's from now on. 

"No mum you really wouldn't." He sighed, leaning a little away from her to try and stop it from feeling like saying no was going to get him hit. "He's just a guy. Like anyone else." 

"Yeah! A guy who has unbelievable fashion lines, and hosts Cinderella balls for sick children, and donates millions to charities every year and," 

Harry stopped listening to Gemma then, biting down on the inside of his cheek. Had he really done all that? And he still wants Harry? Okay there had to be a catch. There just had to be. Maybe he would use that number after all.. To ask him what the bloody hell he was playing at. 

The rest of dinner was a lot of dodging questions about Louis and half arsed conversation on his part. Towards the end they had scored a free desert, Niall tipping the server off that it was Harry's birthday with a broad grin. 

By the time he stumbled back into his flat he was dead on his feet and ready to scream. If he had to hear one more thing about how absolutely amazing Louis was he was gonna pull his hair out. 

He half heartedly got himself undressed, dropping onto the sheets in nothing but his boxers and he was okay with that. Letting out a long sigh, he shifted so he was sitting cross legged in the middle off the mattress, hand reaching out to snatch up his phone. 

He didn't know what he was doing until he found himself in the L section of his contacts, finger hovering over Louis name written tauntingly in black. He had sworn he would never use the number.. But this was different, it was for Gemma. He could do this. 

For Gemma.. Right. 

Hitting the message button he typed out a quick message before he had time to chicken out. 

you’re apparently more famous than I thought. Sister gemma would love to meet you. I'd love for her to get off my arse about it. -H 

Praying in the lords that he hadn't believed in a long time, he hit send 

Please let him say no. 

The reply was almost instantaneous and had his heart clenching. Whether it was a good or bad response he would never confirm. 

I'd love to meet her! Give me a time and place. You will be there, right?

Huffing, be fell back against his pillows, his frustration level not as high as it should be. Replaced by a sick sense of excitement he was never going to admit to out loud. It was a full five minutes before he realized he hadn't replied, hands snatching his phone up from his chest to type out a reply. 

Tomorrow good? The diner? Noon? I'll be working, so if you count that as being there than yeah.

Another instant reply. Was he waiting anxiously for him to reply or something? 

I'll be there. Can't wait to see you. Oh! And your sister of course x 

Pursing his lips, he just shook his head, barely a minute to digest the fact that he'll be seeing Louis tomorrow before he had another message. 

Oh, and happy birthday ;) x 

He was gonna kill Zayn.


	7. Chapter 7

The diner was fairly busy the next morning, which was Harry's only saving grace when noon came around and Louis came waltzing in like the perfect fucking angel he is. 

He was wearing street clothes this time, which in some cases was more offensive than the dress clothes. He had on a pair of tight black jeans, sneakers, and an adidas jumper that looked just a little too big for him. His hair looked like he had just rolled out of bed, ran his fingers through it a few times, then said 'good enough' and every part of Harry was throbbing at the sight. 

He didn't spare a glance for Harry, who was standing just left of the door at a table, waiting rather impatiently for a lovey dovey couple to stop snogging long enough to give him their order. Instead, he moved straight to the bar where Gemma was on the edge of her seat, her smile turning up the moment she caught sight of him. Harry couldn't actually see Louis face, but something about the way Gemma's smile grew told him that Louis was giving her one of those smiles to kill for. 

Or was it that they could kill you? Either way, Harry pursed his lips in a small almost pout. Maybe he didn't see him and that's why he didn't say hi. Yeah, that's possible. 

Why did he care? 

He didn't, I truly didn't, and that was what he continued to tell himself when he made his way back to the bar after hanging the couple's ticket up and Louis again didn't seem to see him. 

Gemma's hands rested against the top of the bar and lord help him, Louis' hand was resting on top hers, fingers seeming to absentmindedly toy with hers. 

That's your sister... That's the only reason you care, Harry. He's putting the moves on your little gem. That's all that tightening in your gut was. 

Except that it didn't seem to fade one bit into the usual surge of protective aggression he felt when watching some loser try and pick up his sister. Partly because it wasn't some loser, it was Louis. His louis. 

Oh shit! Abort! 

Spinning around, Harry dipped into the kitchen and groaned out in agony the moment the door was closed. 

Niall glanced up from where he was grilling a burger, eyebrow arched slightly. "What now?" 

Harry huffed, moving to lean his hip against the counter next to the stove, letting the heat radiating off it sooth him slightly. "Just ignore me." 

Snorting, Niall moved the patty from the stove to the plate set up right next to it on the plate warmer, the toppings already perfectly placed for the customers enjoyment. Niall didn't mess around with his food. "I wish that were an option. But the moment I stop acknowledging your existence you'll start ranting, so out with it." 

Harry wished he could argue with that, but Niall had a point, his shoulders slumping as he glanced through the serving window where Louis was still clearly visible, body leaning far too close to Gemma for his liking. "It's Louis! Look at him!" 

Niall glanced up from what he was doing, leaning over to see what had Harry so upset. His eyebrow seemed to disappear into his hairline they shot up so high, gaze curious. "Now, question; you upset he's flirting with Gemma, or that he's not flirting with you?" 

The death glare that Niall got in return had him laughing as he set the plate on the small counter in the window and rang the bell, snatching the ticket from the spindle and setting it aside. "Its an honest question, mate." 

"It's a stupid question." Harry retorted, arms crossing over his chest. 

"There are no stupid questions. Just stupid gits who don't want to answer the question because it'll ruin his whole 'I have no interest in Louis' act. Which wasn't all that convincing to begin with." 

"Stick your hand on that, will ya?" Harry snapped, gesturing to the still hot stove. 

Laughing Niall moved to get things ready for next order, sauntering over to the fridge to pull out a few things that Harry truly couldn't care less about at the moment. "Look, if you're truly bothered by it, go insert yourself. Be the infuriating little brother who cock blocks his sis so you can get the cock of the man flirting." 

"Where did I go wrong in a past life to deserve this?" Harry's tone was growly, gaze still locked on Louis on the other side of the bar. 

"Not sure, but it must have been pretty bad to deserve me as a friend. Now out! Go do something to earn the bloody check you get." 

Rolling his eyes, Harry pushed from the counter and moved to the door, taking a moment to gather himself before pushing from the kitchen, forcing himself to not glance in his sister's direction and he moved to start clearing up the dirty dishes left on the bar. Once he had wiped down every square inch of the bar other than where they were, straightening underneath it, and filled the kettle three times before actually putting it on, he had nothing else to do to distract himself, and he had absolutely zero self control. 

Moving towards Gemma and Louis, he reached out and nudged his sister's shoulder, completely ignoring Louis. Which was a lot harder said than done when he felt the alphas gaze burning into the side of his head. Yeah that's right fucker, he still existed. 

"Gimme your mug, Gem." He tried to keep his tone light, hand held out for his sister long emptied and forgotten mug. Gemma nodded and placed it in his hand, her hand grasping his wrist once he had a firm grip on it and twisting it so she could look at the watch strapped onto his wrist. 

"Oh bloody hell! I have to go. Mum and I had plans to go to the shops and I'm twenty minutes late." Releasing her brother, she turned to look at Louis, smile soft as she rested the hand that had been on him on Louis arm. 

Oh you got balls girl. 

"It was absolutely lovely meeting you, Louis. I'll most definitely come visit your office the next time I'm in town." Sliding off her stool she waved at Harry, smile turned up. "See ya back at your flat, Haz." 

Harry smiled and waved slightly, hand instantly coming down to rest on the bar as he watched his sister push from the diner and scurry down the street. 

It was then that Harry realized his hand was resting just next to Louis, his long fingers barely not touching the other. And he wanted to touch him, oh did he went to. Which of course meant he snatched his hand away and shot a look to Louis as he moved away. 

"What?" 

Oh don't sound so damn innocent Tommo you tit. 

"Nothing." He quipped, resting the mug in his hand in the sink before he practically ran from behind the bar, dipping around the corner to the men's room. He needed a moment, he needed space. He needed to be in a room where Louis scent didn't drown him and his presence didn't make him itch to smooth his hands up the others chest. He needed- 

"Harry." 

Damn it he needed to learn to look the bloody door.

Spinning around, he came face to face with Louis, who looked half amused and half concerned and completely adorable. Twat. 

"Do you follow everyone into the restroom, Louis? That's more than a little creepy, I must say." 

That had Louis laughing, like turning up into a bright smile and gaze alight with amusement. "Only the ones I want to get alone." 

He wants harry alone. Yeah nope. 

"Well I have to take a piss, so unless you plan on sitting there and watching me whip it out -”

“Harry..” 

The way that Louis said his name just wasn’t fair, and it had him stopping mid sentence, his gaze unreadable as he watched the other closely. 

“So you know my name.. that’s a plus..” 

That made the alpha roll his eyes, the other coming closer to Harry, which of course had him stepping back, trying desperately to keep that nice distance between them. Distance was good, it kept him sane, kept him from doing something stupid. Getting closer to Louis would only make things harder. It didn’t help that the alpha’s scent was filling the small room, the sweet undertone making the omega feel light headed. It was soft, sweet, and completely one hundred percent Louis and it was intoxicating. He wanted to bury his nose into the others neck and live in that scent for the rest of his life. And it was closing in, Louis moving forward faster than Harry could go back. 

Strong hands gripped onto Harry’s hips, shoving him back the few steps it took to have him pinned against the edge of the counter, forcing him to reach back to stop himself from tripping back on top of it. Louis truly was much smaller than he was, but that didn’t stop him from taking up the entire room with his presence. 

“Do you ever stop talking?” Louis question had Harry raising a brow, head tilting to the side as he shook his head slowly. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to, voice catching in his throat as he pressed back against the counter in a weak attempt to put space between them. “Didn’t think so.” 

What happened next was completely out of his control, okay no it wasn’t. He saw Louis leaning up, had enough time to stop him before anything actually happened, but something kept him rooted to the spot, hands gripping on to the side of the counter for dear life. All he could do was watch helplessly as Louis closed in, the touch of soft full lips against his own eliciting an almost pathetic sound from him. It was a mix between a groan and whine and it was only the beginning. 

His hands came up, long fingers moving to curl into the soft dirty brown strands that rested on the back of Louis head, pulling him up more and in so that the kiss wasn’t so soft, but more of a crushing desperate crash of lips. Louis hands seemed to have a mind of their own, slipping up his sides, around to his back, tracing his spine up to his shoulders, then back down, exploring every inch of him that he could reach in the position they were in. Harry couldn’t help but get lost in it all, feeling like his every nerve ending was at the surface of his skin, each touch sending a new wave of shivers down his spine and out across his limbs. It made it hard to stand, and he found himself using the counter as more of a support than anything else. 

Louis seemed to notice his troubles and took mercy on him, or decided to torture him more, he wasn’t sure just yet. Either way, Louis brought his hands down, fingers curling around the back of his thighs and hoisting the much larger male up so that he was sitting atop the counter between the two sinks on either side. It didn’t end there, Louis’ slim fingers finding their way between his thighs, gripping his legs so that he could spread them open, stepping forward so that he was pressed against Harry’s chest. Harry let out a soft groan into the kiss, the sound muffled as they worked their lips together in sync with one another. The omega brought his hands down, letting them slide down the porcelain collumb of Louis’ throat, across his shoulders, and down to hook around his shoulders from behind, pulling him in as close as possible as Louis rested his own hands at the small of his back, pulling him to the edge of the counter. 

There was no space between them, and suddenly Harry completely understood why Zayn never seemed to care one bit about where he did this. Harry couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t function in that moment, completely lost in everything Louis; the taste of his lips, the way his hands felt against his back, his chest pressed against his own. It all seemed to fog up his mind and make it impossible for him conjure up a coherent thought. It felt a lot more like his wolf was controlling him, and that was what scared him the most.

He hadn’t lost control like this since he was a teenager, hadn’t lost himself in a kiss this badly since before he even moved to Manchester. Even back then it was never this bad, never this numbing, and that realization scared the hell out of him. 

Enough that he got up the strength to pull back, panting softly as he unhooked his hands to press them against Louis’ chest, forcing him to back up just enough that Harry didn’t feel so completely overwhelmed by him. It didn’t do much, but it helped enough to get him to think straight.. at least for a moment. 

“L-lous, I-I,” oh for christ's sake Harry, it was just a kiss, snap out of it, “ I’m not shagging in the men's room of my work.” Oh yes that was what you meant to say.. git. 

Louis laughed, just as breathless as Harry was. Oh? So he wasn’t the only one affected by the other. 

“We don’t have to do anything here, Harry. I just needed you to stop running.” 

Nice tactic you arse. 

Shoving at Louis’ chest now, Harry pushed him back so he was no longer between his legs and slid off the counter, nearly collapsing when he got on his trembling feet. Louis’ hand gripping his hip was the only thing that kept him up, and holy shit it felt good to have him hold him like that.   
Oh what has this wanker done to him? 

“I haven’t been running.” Even Harry knew how much of a lie that was, and the look Louis gave him was telling him that he wasn’t buying it. Stepping out of Louis grip, he sighed and moved to fix his jumper, which had bunched up somewhere between being hoisted onto the counter and then, exposing his hips and making him feel more than slightly uncomfortable. “I need to get back to work.” 

He swerved, trying to get out from in front of Louis, but a hand came to stop him, gripping his wrist and making him turn to look at the alpha. “See? Right there, you’re running, Harry. Why?”

Pulling his wrist free from his grip, he tried to ignore how adorable Louis’ lips looked, swollen and just kissed and inviting in every single way. Oh he didn’t want to run, he didn’t want to stop looking at this man, ever. Which was exactly why he found himself moving towards the door. 

“I’m not running. Just, gotta work.” he shrugged, hand reaching back to scramble for the doorknob, crushing his finger against it before he finally got ahold of it to open the door. He practically fell out of the bathroom, spilling out into the hallway and letting out a long breath. 

Glancing up, he froze, hand still resting against the handle. Standing just in front of him was a very amused looking Liam, his eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t say a word, but the look in his eyes was all Harry needed to feel very judged. “Oh shut it, you twat.” 

Harry shoved past Liam, grumbling to himself as he pushed back out into the main room. 

“I didn’t say anything!” Came Liam's indignant reply, the other spinning around to follow him out. 

“You didn’t have to! I can see the snide comments written all over your face and I don’t appreciate it.” 

Liam snorted, moving with him as he pushed behind the bar. “So i’m getting in trouble for something my face said? Do you see the issue there?” Liam was laughing, hip leaning casually against the bar as he watched him. 

“I don’t care. You’re going to make a comment and you need to not. I don’t need to hear the I told you so’s.” 

The sound of a door opening and closing had him glancing up just in time to see Louis coming out of the restroom’s hallway, hands shoved into his pockets as he seemed to make a beeline for the front door. Harry’s gaze flicked away almost instantly, hands clenching and cheeks burning. Oh damn his body for reacting so obviously to that damned man. Liam didn’t miss a thing, and it was clear in his gaze that he was extremely amused with everything. 

“Oh fuck you.” Harry grumbled, snatching up the rag on the counter before turning away. 

That night he sat curled up on the couch, Gemma talking animatedly to their mother about her day with Louis. Clearly she hadn’t gotten it out of her system while they had been shopping and she still had to relive every “perfect” moment with him. 

“I’m telling you mum, he’s the sweetest guy. You should totally meet him. What time is our train tomorrow? Maybe we can meet up with him before hand.” 

The sound that left Harry was one of mixed horror and despair, which seemed to catch Anne’s attention. 

“What’s wrong, love?”

Shaking his head, Harry glanced at her before looking away. “Nothing, mum. Just had something in my throat.” 

Anne didn’t seem convinced, but she seemed to drop it. Harry did his best to ignore the tightening in his chest as Gemma continued to talk. He was not jealous, it was not something he felt. No, nope. 

He kept up that mantra all through the movie marathon that they decided to start up. staring blankly at the screen with his arms curled around his legs so that he could hold them against his chest. He even kept it up when he was stretched out in bed, his mum and Gemma back at their hotel for the night and leaving him alone to his thoughts. Which was never a good thing. 

He was not jealous, he just wasn’t. He didn’t get like that, he didn’t have those feelings over anyone. 

His phone lit up on the bedside table, letting him know he had a message. He was half tempted to let it go unanswered, knowing who it was bound to be from, but the moment the screen went black again, plunging him into the darkness once more, he couldn’t resist. Reaching out, he picked it up and opened up the message. Of course it was from Louis. 

Please let your sister know that I had a wonderful time today, and send her my best wishes on her journey home. Sweet dreams. - L 

Fuck.. he was jealous.


	8. Chapter 8

The next few weeks went by normally, and by normally they went without a single word from Louis. Harry got up, went to work, and came home. That was that. Nothing special, no little texts, not a phone call, nothing. It was as if Louis Tomlinson had never entered his life. 

And he hated it. 

He grew agitated the longer he didn't have contact with the alpha, became moody and upset. Zayn and Liam both said they didn't see a difference from his normal behavior, but they could go fuck themselves for all Harry cared. Niall was the only one who seemed even remotely sympathetic to his turmoil. But even he had his fun with it. 

“Oh come on! You don't see the irony in this? He was all over you and you practically shoved him out the door, now you're all sad eyed because he finally gave up.” 

The look Harry gave the other omega didn't seem to persuade the Irish prick to stop talking. 

“He's all ‘oh harry love me’ and you're all ‘no you stupid alpha go away’ and now he's backed off and you're all like ‘no you stupid alpha come here’ it's like a bad TV drama.” niall finally stopped ranting, his words trailing off in a small fit of chuckles as he shook his head. 

They sat sprawled out on Harry's couch, Niall's feet propped up on his lap as he laid back across the small space available to him. At least he had been sitting like that, until Harry shoved at his legs hard enough to knock the still giggling male on the floor with a small thud. 

“I'm not begging him to love me! Just.. Want to know why he suddenly stopped trying.” 

Niall let out a snort sound that reminded Harry of a pig, pushing himself up from the floor as he did. “Because you snogged him then ran like he gave you herpes. Hurts a man's ego a bit.’ 

Rolling his eyes, harry curled his legs underneath him, lips permanently curled into a small pout. “Oh whatever.” 

Taking up his old spot on the couch, Niall sighed. “Come on, at least tell me you're going to Zayns award ceremony. You're pictures are part of the article.” 

Zayn had been informed a few days back that his article on Louis had gotten him recognized as writer of the year for his magazine. It wasn't anything nationally recognized, but it was a huge deal for the alpha wolf. He had gone on a huge rant about how it was about time he got recognized and that he was more than deserving of the damned thing. 

No one accused Zayn Malik of being humble. 

Either way, Louis was set to appear in person to give him the award, and from the moment Harry found that out, he refused to go. 

“Nope.” His tone was clipped, his expression determined, and that little voice in his head was calling him a git. 

“Don't be a git.” Niall said, eyes narrowed.

See? Not the only one.

“I don't want to go!” 

It didn't seem to matter that Harry thought he was being completely convincing, because Niall wasn't buying it, his gaze scrutinizing as he huffed. 

“You don't want to go because you don't want to risk Louis not giving you a second look. But this is important to Zayn, the person who's been there for you and loved you since you two were wee little shits causing everyone to get a migraine. You bail on him now he's going to have a Malik meltdown.” 

Harry snorted, trying to not to think about the last time he had set off a Malik meltdown. He still couldn't sit right some days. 

“I have nothing to wear.” 

“Guess you're lucky you have the most amazing best friend ever, then.” 

Both Niall and Harry spun around to look at the door as Zayn pushed in with a garment bag slung over his shoulder. “Next excuse?” Zayn quipped, eyebrow raised as he stopped right behind the couch. 

Harry pursed his lips and moved to stand up, walking around the couch to snatch the bag from Zayn. 

“How?” Was his simple question as he draped the bag across the couch, unzipping it and pulling the flaps back enough to see a three piece suit tucked inside. 

“Remember when we were in that play two years ago for the community center?” 

Harry glanced back at Zayn with a raised brow, a small huff slipping from his lips. “You mean when you forced me to play as Romeo in romeo and Juliet and that God awful woman was Juliet and tried to snog me backstage to ‘practice’” Harry asked, making a face as he recalled the horrors he had gone through. 

Nodding, Zayn smiled “yeup! That's the one. Well I still had your measurements written down and you haven't changed much between then and now so I just had them tailor a suit. A little bigger to compensate for your broad shoulders.”

Harry let out a long sigh, shoulders slumping as he looked back over at the suit. It was coming apparent that he wasn't about to get a choice in the matter. He was going. 

“Fine, I'll go. But don't think I'm happy about it.” 

Zayn snorted, moving to nudge him. “That's different from when?” 

Harry had to give Zayn props, because when he slipped into the suit that Saturday night it fit like it had been hand crafted to for him. The slacks were perfect, and the blazer hugged him perfectly when he moved to button it, bringing out his curves and defining every long line of his body. 

His long hair was pushed back so that it didn't hang in front of his face, but he had allowed Zayn to make it look nice while still keeping it down. 

Of course, Zayn was the epitome of perfection in his navy blue suit, white under shirt open a little at the top to show a bit of his tattoos. His long hair was slicked back, leaving just a stray strand to fall in front of his features. He had just enough facial hair to look good without looking frumpy and unkempt, and his brown eyes seemed to shimmer in the dim lighting of the dining hall. 

All along the walls were banners that had quotes from the article printed across them in fancy script, little quips of Zayns writing providing a good enough distraction for Harry as he sat In his seat, even if the quips were about the man he was anxious to avoid. 

Or to see.. He wasn't sure yet. 

He had mixed feelings. He was angry at being ignored, yet relieved that Louis seemed to finally get the hint. But that wasn't exactly what he had wanted, was it? For Louis to completely back out of his life like he had. 

It had been weeks and Harry found himself pinning to see the alpha as much as he wanted to avoid him. 

Get yourself together, Styles. You sound like a schoolgirl with a crush. 

Well in all honesty that’s sort of what he was. And that fact was driven right in when he caught that familiar scent. It was soft, sweet, and a hundred percent Louis and it made his heart skip a beat or ten as his attention snapped towards the front entrance. 

Bloody hell…

Louis looked like he owned the room, short stature meaning nothing with the way he was standing. A jet black suit covered him, hugging every dip and curve of his body perfectly. Harry could see the way his back dipped and curved at the base before it met his hips, his sides seeming to have a mouth watering curve to them that had him looking regal. His hair was in a messy little style, hanging in front of his crystal blue eyes in a way that cast a shadow right where it was most offensive, and don’t get Harry started on Louis’ arse in those trousers. 

Harry couldn’t pull his gaze away, and he was pretty sure his breath had stopped sounding normal a few minutes back. He couldn’t be arsed to care if anyone noticed him, his lips pulling into a tight line. 

Louis didn’t seem to notice him, or if he did he was blatantly ignoring him as he moved towards the table, instantly enveloping Zayn into a tight hug.

“Congratulations, mate. You definitely deserve it.” Louis’ voice was bright, happy, and genuinely kind as he squeezed the other male fondly. 

Zayn was beaming, looking almost sheepish when faced with the subject of his article. Well that’s new. 

“Thanks, Lou. Honestly I have you to thank for being such an interesting topic.” 

that had Louis laughing, the sound bright and happy and fuck it send a chill down Harry’s spine. This man was unfair in every way. 

“Well, you made me sound far more interesting than I am, but I do appreciate that. May I sit?” Zayn nodded, and Louis moved to sit down in the only seat left empty at the table… right..next..to..Harry. 

Curse everything and everyone in this bloody room. 

Again, Louis didn’t seem to notice that his leg was mere inches from brushing Harry’s, nor that his arm resting on the armrest of his chair was so close to Harry’s that he could feel the warmth raiding off of him.

Of course he doesn’t notice, he’s not insane like you are. 

Louis carried on the conversation with Zayn, talking animatedly and smiling whenever he found something amusing. Harry tried not to stare, he promise he did, but that wasn’t how it went. nope, he ended up staring the entire time he sat next to him, watching as his lips moved when he spoke, the way that his eyes creased when he smiled. Not a fake smile like when someone came up to him to gush, but a genuine smile that creased his features whenever Zayn said something amusing, or when Niall, who of course had not really dressed up at all, made a sly remark on whatever it was that they were discussing. 

He was pretty sure that Zayn had expected him to jump into the conversation a few times, watching the way the other glanced at him like he was being the most annoying thing on the planet. But for the life of him, Harry couldn’t form a coherent thought long enough to form a coherent sentence.

By the time Louis and Zayn got up for the presentation of the award, Harry had cursed himself out in about every single way he could think possible, then added a few choice words for Louis. He was grumpy, irritated with himself and Louis, and pouty, leaning back in his seat like an irate child who got told he couldn’t have dessert. 

The room erupted into applause when Louis got up on stage, the alpha beaming and seeming completely at ease up there. He made a moving speech about how he had never met someone so driven to succeed as Zayn and that they were going to definitely stay in touch. He also made mention that in meeting Zayn he met an amazing group of people and if Harry was a shallower person, he’d say that Louis actually looked at him when he said that. But it happened so fast and he was moving on to introducing Zayn right after that, so he couldn’t be certain. 

He did stand up when everyone else did, however. Clapping happily for Zayn as he stepped onto stage and moved to embrace Louis, who had pulled a plaque out of his arse at some point to hand to him. 

After a quick speech that was less than humble from a very smiley Zayn, the celebration kicked up a notch.. or ten. 

Tables were pushed to the side, leaving a space in the middle for a dance floor, Niall had disappeared during the speeches and reemerged with speakers and his laptop, settling down on the stage to start putting on music. In true Zayn Malik fashion, Zayn had managed to turn the event into a party in no time. Coats were thrown off, high heels left at tables and soon enough the floor was full of people moving to the upbeat song. 

Harry stayed off to the side as per usual for him while the rest of his group seemed to disappear into the crowd, Louis included. Every once in awhile he caught a glimpse of him, usually talking to someone with mild interest. Once or twice he appeared on the dance floor with a very happy Zayn, the two moving together and laughing as they spoke in each other's ears. 

Well.. looks like they were getting close. 

Oh for fuck sake Harry!

His mind didn’t get any more time to yell, because just then he had his view blocked by someone. Letting his gaze flick over to the person, he raised an eyebrow curiously. 

“Hello there! Names Stan, friend of Louis’.” Harry nodded slowly, gaze turning more perplexed than annoyed as he watched him. Why was a friend of Louis’ coming to him? “Was wondering if you’d like to dance.” 

Harry snorted, shaking his head slowly. “Louis must not have told you about me.” 

That had the other grinning, head shaking as well. “Oh no, he did. Harry Styles, right? He told me you’d be the shaggy looking one. No, he’s told me everything about you. Wouldn’t shut up about ya.” 

Don’t get to excited about that, don’t do it. 

“Anyway, doesn’t mean I don’t want to dance with ya. Come on, one dance.” 

Harry didn’t really have much of a chance, because Stan grabbed onto his hand and yanked him to the makeshift dance floor before he could even blink. He stumbled slightly, hand instinctively shooting out to grab onto whatever was closest for balance, which just so happened to be Stan’s hip. His long finger curling into the bone as he caught his footing and straightened up. Stan looked amused, and highly proud of himself, which irked the omega greatly, but he didn’t comment. 

When in Rome right?

He didn’t dance, the only time he had ever willingly done so was with Louis at Zayn’s birthday party, but something about Stan seemed to have his defenses melting to the point that it wouldn’t be too horrible if he moved a bit. It might have also been that Stan was so horrid at dancing that it was comical, but Harry didn’t say anything about it, the other seeming to know how horrible he was and owning it.

It wasn’t half bad, in fact by the time he was stumbling back to his seat he was laughing and breathless. Stan had dipped off to find his next victim, leaving Harry alone as he slumped in his chair, blowing out a long breath. His hair had come out of it’s style, falling over his features in curtains of brown curls, casting shadows of his face before he moving his fingers through it, pushing it back and to the side. He was too distracted to notice someone coming up behind him, not even realizing that there was someone leaning in until they were close enough to brush against his back, warmth radiating off whoever it was. 

He tensed, ready to throw his elbow back into whomever was being a prick and invading his personal space, until they spoke. It was a soft purr, oozing promise, and making it hard to breathe right. 

“You look good panting and sweating like that, love.” 

Louis had given up ignoring him it seemed.


	9. Chapter 9

Turning enough to look at Louis, he had to lean to the side to stop their lips from brushing, the others face so close to his that their breath mixed together in the short space between them. Louis was smirking, the expression like a cat who just caught their prey for the night. 

“Done ignoring me now?” Harry just couldn’t seem to stop being a prat it seemed. 

Louis chuckled, pulling back a little as his hand came out to rest on the back of his chair. “You wanted space, I gave you space.” 

“Not that much space!” Harry instantly retorted, gaze hardening as he shifted in his seat so there was more space between them. 

Louis shrugged, looking unaffected by his anger. 

“You need to be more clear next time.” 

Harry was speechless, which was extremely hard to do, so he had to give Louis props. 

“I--wha-- are you serious right now, Louis?” 

Louis shrugged, moving forward again so that they were inappropriately close. “The phone works both ways, Mr. Styles. If you wanted to talk to me, all you had to do was call.” There it was, that slow purr that captured his attention and made it impossible for Harry to get his breathing regulated. It had become more teasing, however, so he could look past the throbbing between his legs for a moment.

“Well how am I supposed to know when a good time to talk to you is? You're all big and important. I don't feel like talking to a voicemail.” 

It was such a sad excuse, and he knew it. And so did Louis. 

“You'd never talk to my voicemail, Harold. Never.”

The way Louis said Harold suddenly made him okay with being called by that name. Okay maybe not, but it was hot as hell. 

Louis must have taken his silence as an invitation to invade his personal space, because that's what he did, pressing in closer until he was nearly sitting in his lap. Harry was surrounded by him, his scent encasing him and making it hard to breathe. It was thicker now, filling the air more fully and Harry knew why. 

Louis was being a very naughty boy. 

“Come with me.” 

Oh shit.. 

“And do what?” 

Harry's voice gave out slightly, his hands clutching onto the arms of his chairs so tightly that they turned white. The sly smirk that crosses the alphas features had him suppressing a groan, the way his eyes seemed to gleam knocking the wind from him. 

“You.” 

Louis spoke in a soft growl, and Harry was gone. 

How exactly they got out of the main dining hall was a blur. Harry only remembering flashes of faces as he was dragged from the room and yanked down a long empty hall. Doors lined the wall, all probably leading to empty rooms that would have been just as suitable for their needs, but Louis made a hard left, and suddenly he was being pressed into the wall of a supply closet, door slamming shut and throwing them into complete darkness. 

“We're in the closet? Really?” Harry tried to sound snotty, but it was more like a whine, Louis smaller from pressing into him in ways that had him shivering. 

“Love, I haven't been in the closet for a long time.” 

Harry opened his mouth to make a smart comment, but louis took that moment to seal his lips over Harry's, very nicely shutting him up. Harry groaned, body melting into Louis as his lips parted, giving Louis access that the wolf happily used. His tongue slipped into the omegas mouth, exploring every inch of him before gliding across Harry's own tongue to entice it to move. 

Harry's hands moved up, long fingers brushing up Louis sides and across to unfasten the buttons on the males blazer, wasting no time in shoving it off his shoulders. He took a moment to let his hands glide down the others back, feeling along the dip at the base and letting out a soft sound. 

The man was gorgeous, so sue him. 

And the more he got off the male the more gorgeous he became. Harry managed to get Louis naked from the waist up before Louis pulled back, seeming to finally realize that Harry still had his entire suit on. It was dark, but that didn't mean he couldn't see, his wolf heightening his sight so that he could look at every small detail on the others body as he was yanked from the wall. He was pretty sure Louis would have ripped the buttons right out of his shirt had he had the freedom, but they both knew they had to leave this closet looking a little presentable, so he took his time, unfastening every button one at a time. 

The only issue he had with that, was Louis was a damn tease. He bent down, pressing slow, open mouthed kisses against every small inch of skin that he revealed, nipping at him. Moaning softly, Harry arched his back, long fingers moving to sink into the older wolfs hair. His head fell back against the wall, eyes fluttering closed as he tried to hold back the shudder that ended up going through him anyway. 

When louis finally got to the last button, he was on his knees and Harry… Well the sound he made wasn't natural, or human in any way. He could feel Louis smirk against his skin, and retaliated with a quick tug to his hair, which of course earned him a sharp nip to his belly. Harry gasped, moaning and bucking his hips forward slightly. 

“Shit, Louis.” He huffed out, shoulders rolling to get his shirt off of him completely. Louis chuckled, his breath warm and teasing against his skin as he started gliding his hands up the inside of Harry's legs. 

For someone who had been in a hurry to get him away from the crowd, Louis was sure taking his dear sweet fucking time. 

He skimmed his nose across the expanse of Harry's hip just above his waistband, fingers dancing up until they could work open his trousers, letting out an almost purr as he worked. Harry was squirming, lost to the warm touch, and Louis seemed to find amusement in that. 

“Love, as hot as it is to have you squirming around. Hold.still.” his hands grabbed at his hips, pinning them to the wall and keeping them held there. His tone left no room for argument, so when he let go of him, Harry didn't move a muscle. 

“Good boy.” Louis praised, his voice a soft purr as he began slipping Harry's trousers down his legs. “Now be a good little omega and don't move. You do I'll pull off. Understand?” 

Oh he didn't just… Oh fuck. 

“Harry, I need you to verbally answer me.” 

Oh crap, he did. He just alpha’d him. 

“Y-yes, I understand.” 

There was that purr again, Louis pressing a kiss to his stomach as he helped him step from his pants. He didn't move to take off his boxers, instead moving his hand up to cup him through the thin fabric. The heel of his hand pressing into his shaft, kneading softly as he tightened his grip around him. 

And for the love of everything that was pure in the world, Harry wanted to move. 

His lips parted, letting out a rush of breath and his chin tipped up slightly and he groaned. He had to physically stop his hips from jerking up into the touch, which was a lot harder said than done, but he did manage it, and was rewarded with a small proud grin. 

Cheeky prick. 

It stayed like that for a bit, Louis doing everything in his power to royally piss Harry off and get him as sexually frustrated as possible. Every time his hips jerked or twitched hed pull his hands away from him completely, which was a fate worse than the teasing. 

By the time Harry was finally standing naked in front of Louis, he was needy, over sensitive, and throbbing. And Louis knew it. 

He thankfully didn't make him wait any longer before he got some actual contact, his long fingers coming up to wrap around Harry's shaft, giving him a few lazy strokes as he shifted on his knees. Harry moaned softly, eyes screwing shut as he bit down on his lower lip. 

“Tell me what you want, love.” Louis sounded just as affected as Harry. His voice low and gruff, almost a growl as he squeezed Harry in just the right way to make him gasp. 

“You.. Oh bloody hell. I want you.” Harry said, or more like moaned. This time there was no stopping his hips from arching away from the wall, pressing into his hand. But Louis didn't seem to care. Either that or he didn't want to take his hands off of him as much as Harry didn't want his hands off. 

“You want me, what? I need you to be more specific.” 

Harry's cheeks flushed, and for a moment he was thankful that his head had thrown back enough that Louis couldn't see him. He had never been sheepish. He was very used to just asking for what he wanted, but with Louis it was different. This wasn't just a fuck, not to him. The teasing and taunting, it wasn't just a means to get off. He felt like Louis was savoring every touch, every shift of his hips, and it was so different. Even then, with his hand on Harry's cock and mouth parted, waiting for Harry's instructions, he was going gentle, almost like Harry was easily broken. It was until anything he had ever been through and it made this so much more than a quick fuck in the closet. Louis was so much more..

Oh fuck him, no. Please god no. 

He looked down at Louis, teeth nipping his lower lip as he tightened his grip in his hair. He didn't trust his voice to not convey the struggle he was currently going through due to the realization he had just come to, so he just showed Louis what he wanted. Tugging at the others long hair, he guided his face down until he could feel the others lips ghost over his throbbing skin. 

Louis chuckled lightly at the forcefulness, but didn't fight him, and quickly obeyed. And Harry was in absolute heaven. The wet warmth of the others mouth was enough, but Louis wasn't a novice at this, and he seemed to pull out every trick in the book. He swallowed Harry's length in one quick dip of his head, a soft hum rumbling in the back of his throat and sending vibrations through the omega and up his spine. His lips were clamped securely around him and he seemed to swallow a couple times before pulling off, sucking hard as he came up. 

Harry was less than discreet with his sounds, gasping and moaning as he thrust up into Louis waiting mouth and tugged at his hair. He was pretty sure he could be heard back in the dining hall, and he honestly couldn't be arsed with caring. His only concern was the male, on his knees, in front of him. 

A combination of the teasing and Louis impeccable talent had Harry crying out his release within minutes, his head going fuzzy, vision blurring, and body tensing as he shuddered under the alphas grip. Louis waited until the last shudder gripped the omega, until the last drop slid down his throat, before pulling back, a proud grin creasing his lips as he stood up. 

“That, was worth all the aching in my knees without a doubt.”

Harry laughed, the sound breathless and shaky as he wrapped his arms around Louis neck. “You looked good on your knees, gotta admit.” 

Louis seemed to want to say something back, but just then they were drowned in blinding light, both of them wincing at the harsh change in lighting. Louis looked back, and was thankfully covering Harry from view of the other alpha standing in the doorway of the closet, a large knowing smirk on his lips. 

“Found them! In the closet.” Liam shouted over his shoulder. 

Oh shit there was more of them. 

Sure enough, Zayn appeared behind Liam, a small laugh slipping from his lips. “Bloody told you! Now come on boys, out of the closet. We're all accepting here. No need to hide… Well no, Harry you hide a little. Pants are required.” 

Harry groaned, hiding his face in Louis shoulder as his cheeks burned. 

“Oi! Why are you standing in front of the door and not partying? I played Fancy just for you, Zayn.” 

Oh come on! Niall too! 

Niall must have peeked into the closet because he let a sharp wolf whistle before laughing. “Nice! But why in the closet? You past like three rooms with tables and shit on your way in here.” 

Louis finally seemed to have mercy on Harry, because he reached over and snatched the door from Liam, slamming it shut and throwing them back into complete darkness 

Snorting, he looked at Harry and stepped back, bending down to hand him his trousers, and his own clothing, before straightening up to press a long kiss to Harry's lips. 

“Get dressed. Then in taking you home, and you can return the favor.” He chuckled lightly, teeth capturing Harry's lower lip in a tight grip before he pulled off and slipped out of the closet, leaving the omega to get dressed and drown in embarrassment. 

What the hell did he just get himself into?


	10. Chapter 10

It was a dream.. That was the only explanation. There was no reason any of it was real. 

Why the hell was he so damn warm? 

None of it actually happened, as much as he would have loved for it to have. 

Seriously who the fuck turned up the heat? And what the bloody hell was wrapped around him so damned tightly? 

Blinking his eyes open, he had to squint when the blinding light stabbed him in the irises. Well hello there, sun. He tried to move his hand up to block his eyes, but found that he was pinned down, arms held to his sides by something that didn't feel like it was budging. Looking back, he came face to face with..

Holy shit it wasn't a dream. 

Louis looked like some sort of angel sent from heaven, curled into his back with his face pressed into his shoulder blade and arms holding him secure to his chest. His leg was wedged between both of Harry's and he was sound asleep. Well that answered the heat question. 

Louis was like a heater turned up to its maximum temp, and Harry was suffocating. He groaned, doing his best to wiggle free from the other. But the more he moved, the tighter Louis’ grip became. This is it, it was how Harry was going to die. Strangled to death by a man he spent all night rolling around with. 

He should have guessed this was how his time would come. 

With a little grunt, Harry finally managed to rip himself from Louis, but he took too long to relish in his victory because by the time he was sitting up, a hand came up to grab a fistful of his hair and yank him back down. 

A small gasp slipped from his lips, pain lancing through him. But that wasn't the only thing. 

In the blink of an eye, he was tangled in Louis again, the wolf grumbling in a disgruntled way. “Stop moving, Harold or I'll tie you up again.” 

Again. Did he just say again? 

Flashes came to him, something tight biting into his wrists, arms held above his head as he was held down onto his stomach, a sharp sting from.. 

Whoa okay! We need to get off memory lane now. 

“You're hot!” That got a sleepy snort out of the other, Louis raising an eyebrow as he lifted his head to look at him. 

“I know. You told me repeatedly last night.” 

“Oh for the love of - get off!” 

Louis laughed, the sound bright, and as always making Harry's heart skip a beat, as he rolled to the side so he was laying out on his back. 

It was only then that Harry looked around as he sat up. They definitely weren't at his flat. 

Louis room was large, nothing over the top, but definitely bigger than his. The walls were white and for the most part completely bare of any personal items. Amazingly, multi colored Christmas lights had been strung along the ceiling, something that seemed completely out of character for the male. He sat in, what had to be, a king sized bed, black silk sheets rubbing against his bare legs as he shifted in his spit. The only truly personal item was a framed picture on Louis side of the bed, nestled between a small bedside lamp and a digital clock. 

It showed Louis sandwiched between four girls, a baby held in his arms while another sat in his lap. 

“My family.” 

Louis must of caught him staring, Harry's gaze jerking away from the picture to look at him. 

“Oh.. Uh.. Sorry. Don't meant to snoop.” Harry's cheeks flushed, gaze dropping to the small space between them 

“You're not snooping, Haz.” Louis said, laughing softly as he sat up. Taking the picture off the table, he held it out so Harry could see it better. “Those are me sisters, Lottie, Phoebe, Daisy, and Felicity. Then these are the newest additions to the family; the twins Ernest and Doris.” He pointed them out as he named them, his smile fond. 

“Wow… You have a lot of siblings.. How do you keep track?” 

Louis grinned, setting the picture down as he slid out of bed “I love them to death. So I find ways.” He glanced back over his shoulder, that glint from the night before back in place. “Gonna take a shower. Wanna join?” 

Harry stood in the living room an hour later, wet hair slicked back from his face and one of Louis sweat pants hanging low on his hips. 

He wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting out of Louis’ place, but it wasn't this. 

It was a flat, again larger than his own, but that wasn't hard to do. The kitchen took up most of the space, the living room made up of a large leather couch, which he still felt rubbing against his back, a coffee table, which was sturdier than it looked, and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. The walls had pictures covering them. Not of people, but places, landscapes of all over England and even some of the states. 

There was one picture of Louis on the wall, but he wasn't alone. An older woman, couldn't be much more than forty, was wrapped around him, and he was beaming. That had to be his mum. 

Looking over his shoulder at Louis, who was bustling around in the kitchen fully dressed in slacks and a button up shirt, and sighed. “Not many personal things up, eh mate?” 

Louis glanced up from his mug, mid pouring the water for his tea. “Hm? Oh yeah, don't ever really put much up like that.” 

“Why not?” 

He shrugged, setting the kettle down and snatching up the sugar container. “Move a lot. Never really stay in one place longer than a year. Never saw the point in unpacking all the photos if they were just gonna be boxed up again within a few months.” 

That had Harry frowning, the boy padding over to the counter and sitting on one of the stools that lined it. “How long you been here?” 

Louis gave him a knowing look, which told him that he hadn't been as nonchalant as he had hoped. 

“Don't worry about that, love. I gotta go to work, so feel free to stay and eat whatever you want. When you're ready to head home, I had my driver bring your car from the venue last night and he left the keys on the table by the door. He also brought some clothes for you, but you look better in my clothes than I do so help yourself to those too.” 

Harry couldn't stop the pout that creased his lips. For some reason he pictured them spending the day together, just the two of them. He wasn't sure why, and now that he thought about it he realized how idiotic that was. Of course Louis had to work, he always had to.

Louis came around the counter, cup in hand and reached out to turn him so that he could step between Harry's legs. “Don't pout, love. I'll come see you soon.” He grinned as he spoke, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips before he pulled away and snatched up his own keys from the counter. 

Harry didn't stay long, but he did snatch up one of Louis’ jumpers, pulling it on and making a beeline for the door. Snatching his keys up on the way out. 

He wanted to get home, curl up in bed, and just bask in the glory of the last twelve hours. But as he had stated before.. His luck didn't work that way. 

“Bowlegged yet?” 

“Zayn…” 

Harry tossed his keys onto the coffee table as he walked into his living room, Zayn sprawled out on the small couch, looking perfectly at home. 

“You smell like him. Is that his jumper? My my, Harold, naughty.” Zayn taunted, laughing when Harry shoved his legs off the couch. 

“Hush. I'm having a good morning, I don't need you mucking it up.” 

Zayn snorted and sat up, looking him over. “You look like you're having a good morning. Its nice.. Haven't seen you like this since-” 

“What did I just say about mucking up my good mood?” 

Zayn held up his hands, giving him a small smile. “I'm just saying, its been a while. Now come on, get dressed in real clothes, we have things to do today.” 

Harry furrowed his brow, completely confused as he was yanked onto his feet. “Huh?” 

Zayn sighed, shoving at Harry until he moved towards the bedroom.

“I need to recapture Liam's attention. Which means I need a new outfit, and I need you to be my guinea pig for how hot I look.” 

Harry groaned, digging his heels into the carpet. “i don't want to help you get laid. Its weird.” 

“Yeah and so was seeing you naked in a closet with Louis Tomlinson but I'll survive. Now move!” 

He loved Zayn, He loved Zayn, he loved Zayn. 

Now just keep repeating that. Eventually you'll believe it, Harry. 

Being Zayn’s guinea pig meant sitting in an uncomfortable chair, in a frigid part of a department store in the shops and waiting for ten minutes while Zayn picked out the perfect combination of clothes. Harry was really starting to think that the alpha was meant to be a raging teenage girl, tweeting life quotes and taking Instagram selfies with his Starbucks… okay maybe he did that now. Either way, Harry was a half hour in and he was already about to throw something at the male. He had tried on five outfits and when Harry didn’t spring a stiffy right then and there, he decided it wasn’t good enough and spun around to try another. It was an endless cycle of skinny jeans, too tight button up shirts, and curse words. Lots and lots of curse words. 

His salvation came in the form of a text message, the name that popped up making him grin like a fool. It seemed just seeing Louis’ name was enough to give him butterflies. Opening up the message, the grin seemed to only get bigger. 

Can’t stop thinking about you, love. My kitchen counter will never look the same without you bent over it. -L 

Harry could have sworn Louis said he was going to work, which only made this so much better. glancing around almost as if he thought someone would be peering over his shoulder judgmentally, he shifted down in his seat and typed out a quick message. 

Could always take a picture, help keep the memory alive x 

he couldn’t help the shit eating grin that creased his features as he looked up just in time to see Zayn fussing with the buttons of another shirt. He seemed to have given up on getting any sort of real reaction from Harry, which was perfectly fine with him because he was completely distracted now. His phone vibrated to let him know he had a message and glancing down showed it was a multimedia message… what? 

clicking it open, he probably turned about as red as a fire struck. It was a picture… of Harry… bent over the counter with his arms twisted in a very interesting position behind his back. You couldn’t see any of Louis, but from the look on Harry’s face as he pressed his cheek against the granite, he could guess what Louis was doing to him. It was captioned with 

You mean like this? ;) -L

Harry was about to melt into the chair, he could feel it coming as he quickly typed out a reply 

What the hell Louis! I'm in public! 

That was the wrong thing to say apparently because the next few texts were pictures of him in some seriously inappropriate positions and Harry felt like he was going to die. 

He was so distracted that he didn't even noticed Zayn coming over to him until he was right on top of him, looking down at his phone with a raised brow. 

“Damn Harry! Who knew you were so bendy!” 

Harry flailed, tapping the home button so hard he was extremely surprised he didn't break it. Narrowing his gaze, he sighed.

“Not polite to do that.” 

Zayn snorted, flopping down into the chair next to him. “S'also not polite to ignore me when you're here for me.” 

Rolling his eyes, Harry slipped his phone into his pocket. “Zayn, you're gorgeous, if Liam can't see that without the tight jeans and shirt then he's blind.” 

With a shrug, Zayn blew out a long breath. “Its not that i’m like too ugly or anything.. no one would be insane enough to think that. It’s what we are.” he glanced up, and for the first time in Harry’s memory, he looked shy. His gaze was lowered slightly and his cheeks had a small tinge to them, giving him a bashful aura that was completely out of character for him. “We’re both alpha’s, Harry. It won’t work. We’ll end up killing each other if we tried to stay together.” 

Pursing his lips, he nudged Zayn, giving him a small grin. “Hey, stranger things have happened. You could end up being the happiest couple in the world. Just relax, be yourself, and give it time, okay? And stop looking over my shoulder.” 

He shot up out of his chair after that, but not before Zayn snagged his hand, keeping him from going too far. “Nope! Show me the pictures. I wanna see.”

“Oh hell no! That’s so wrong, why would you want to see me like that?”

“Give them!” 

“Bite me!”

“Is that an invitation?”

Harry laughed, feeling himself relax as he slipped back into his usual banter with his best mate. It was like nothing had changed, like they were still the young kids who used to yank on one another’s hair when one of them didn’t hand over what the other wanted. In fact Harry was certain if he didn’t step back Zayn was gonna reach for his hair any moment now. 

Maybe everything could work out alright… maybe.


	11. Chapter 11

One thing Harry had learned in his life was to never get comfortable. Never settle down into a routine and let your guard down. That was when life decided to kick you in the nuts. 

But that was exactly what he did. He couldn't help it. Louis was just too perfect. He spent most nights with him at his flat, sometimes they didn't even go near each other's trousers. They'd just lay out on the bed, usually with Harry's head resting in Louis’ lap, and talked. 

Louis told him stories of his times with his sister, and about his mother and how much he loved her. It was nice to see the man behind the suit. They talked more than anything else and it was nice. Harry didn't feel pressured into anything, didn't feel obligated to give Louis anything. It was nice, it was natural. 

It was far too good to be true. 

Harry was sitting on the counter one morning, his legs crossed and tucked underneath him as he leaned back against the cabinets. Louis was bustling around the living room, gathering his things in his usual last minute fashion. It had become apparent a few days previous that Louis was one of the least organized people in the world. He'd lose his head if it wasn't attached, and in that moment he had lost his cell phone. 

Rolling his eyes, Harry slid off the counter, snatching up the others phone from the middle island where it was hiding underneath a few papers. When he touched it, the screen lit up, Harry's attention drifting to the screen. Louis had about a million emails that needed his attention, but what caught his eye was a text from an unlisted number. 

I have a few options ready if you'd like to stop buy and look. Have some fabulous one bedroom flats available in the states. Let me know - Mason 

“Who's mason?” Oh crap he hadn't meant to ask that out loud. Shit now Louis had known he had snooped. 

The states? Was he leaving? He knew he drove people away, but to go all the way to the states? Harsh. 

Okay calm down, Styles. Hes not running. 

Louis came over, taking his phone from Harry and glancing at the text before slipping his phone into his pocket. “real estate agent.” Louis said it like it was nothing, moving to kiss Harry's cheek as he passed into the kitchen to snatch a thermos from the cabinet. 

“Why do you need one of those?” 

Louis turned to look at home, brow raised. “Why do most people need one?” Shrugging, Louis moved to pour the tea he had made into the thermos, twisting the cap onto it. “Don't freak out, Haz. Can we talk about it tonight? I have a meeting I'm already late for.” 

Harry sighed, arms moving to cross over his chest. “I have plans.” 

Okay, not a lie, he had promise Niall that he would help him with a big catering gig the cafe had thrown him into. He was on pastry duty, then later waiter duty. 

Louis let probably one of the most adorable pouts crease his lips. “Really? Okay, tomorrow morning then.” 

“Work.” 

“You avoiding me again?” 

Snorting, Harry rolled his eyes. “Not everything in my life revolves around you, tommo.” 

That had the older male smirking, nodding slowly. “Well it should. Text me when you're free, yeah?” 

Harry nodded and Louis moved over to kiss him, his fingers curling deliciously into Harry's hair to hold him close. Harry pressed onto it, bending down the small bit he needed to in order to make it so Louis wasn't on tip toes and had better access to him. 

It was over too quick, louis pulling back and giving him a small wink before slipping out of the kitchen. 

Honestly, Harry wished he had stayed at Louis’, because by the time he was finishing with the last cupcake he was ready to shove his icing spatula up Niall's bum. 

“Niall! Relax would ya? I'm done, the food is done, and I phoned Liam and Zayn and they promised to be here in time to help serve.” 

They were massively understaffed. Harry being left to bake all the deserts himself while Niall took the rest of the help to get the main courses done. The three other waiters who were supposed to help Harry serve that night had yet to show and Niall was on melt down mode. 

“I can't mess up on this. This could be the start of my own catering company. If I screw this up-” 

“You won't.” Harry interjected, pulling his apron off from around his waist to set it down. “You've got this, relax.” 

Just then, Liam came sauntering in, trailed by a disgruntled looking Zayn and a small brunette with big round eyes. 

“Found this one straggling around asking ‘bout Niall.” Liam said as an explanation. Niall seemed to know her, because he threw his hands up and moved to embrace her, leaving the other three completely perplexed. 

“I don't want to know.” Zayn said, shouldering past Liam and moving to stand by Harry. “Where's my uniform?” 

Oh no.. What now? 

Harry pointed to the bathrooms, eyebrow raised as he watched Zayn. Zayn just nodded, spinning in the direction and moving away, leaving Harry with a million more questions than he needed. Turning to look at Liam, he gave him a questioning look as if maybe the other had done something, but Liam was avoiding his gaze, watching instead as Niall spoke animatedly to the girl they had arrived with. 

Sighing, he decided to leave it till the end of the night. He had enough on his mind with his own relationship, he didn't need Zayn and Liam adding crap. 

It turned out that the girl was someone Niall had met at the party, and was super sweet and hung off Niall's every word. It was cute to watch, if not a little sickening, and he'd have enjoyed it more if he wasn't sandwiched between a pissed off Zayn and a dismissive Liam. They were all dressed in their uniforms, which were just black slacks with a white button up with the cafes symbol on the breast, and Niall was handing them trays with a weak smile. 

“Breathe, Nialler. We got this.” Liam said, voice optimistic. Zayn snorted, the sound more indignant than anything else, the alpha turning and shoving out of the kitchen. 

“He's gonna be the death of me.” Harry said, shaking his head as he moved out after him. Anything to get out of that room. Zayn gave off a very powerful burst of hormones when mad, and Liam wasn't much better, and two alpha's in a small space had Harry's head spinning, his wolf whining. 

Thankfully the party was outside so he had a moment of reprieve before he moved into the crowd. 

Fantastic, something happened with Zayn and Liam… Again, Niall was ten seconds away from having a melt down, and Louis was planning on moving to America and hadn't even told him. 

Of course he hadnt told you, you shit. You've been dating for what, three weeks? If you could call it dating. 

Didn't mean he shouldn't have been told. He'd worry about feeling guilty about invading his privacy later, for now he needed to know why Louis was talking about getting a flat in the states. Had he done something? 

He was so completely lost in his own head that he hasn't noticed someone stepping in front of him until he was crashing into him. Thankfully he had set his tray down on the buffet table a few moments back without really thinking about it. 

“Bloody hell, I'm sorry. I should have been watching where I was going.” 

Looking up at the man he had crashed into, all the color drained from his face. 

“Honestly, don't worry about it.” 

Don't look up, don't look up. 

He wasnt that lucky, because he did, and when his dark gaze locked on his own, a shock of resemblance went through them. 

“Harry?” 

Fuck! 

Harry started to move back, heart pounding against his chest as he tried to put some sort of distance between them. 

“Harry don't run.” 

That was exactly what he did, flipping around and shoving past the few people that were right behind him. He didn't run exactly, but he did walk very fast, and didn't stop until he came to Zayn, snatching him by the top of his arm and yanking him with him as he made his way back to the kitchen. 

“Oy! Hands off! If I wanted to be manhandled I'd have gone out tonight.” 

Harry ignored Zayns overly irritated tone, slamming the kitchen door shut behind them, startling Niall and the few other chefs still left in there. 

The complete panic he was feeling must of shown in his expression because Zayns went from pure annoyance to concern, and Niall was in front of him moments later, hand reaching out to grab his arm. 

“Whoa, Harry, what's wrong?” Zayn reached up to cup his face, gaze soft as he watched him. 

Harry shook his head, trying to catch his breath and steady his pounding heart. 

“Harry, tell us what happened?” 

“He's here.” Harry finally managed to gasp out, eyes screwing shut. He couldn't get the image out of his head. 

Tall, unnaturally tall, short brown hair, impossibly black eyes, it was all the same, all the exact same. 

“Who's here?” 

He barely registered Niall's voice, not until he was being pinched harshly on his side. Yelping, he opened his eyes and glared at Niall. Blowing out a long breath, he looked at Zayn, gaze guarded. 

“Aaron is here.” 

Now Zayn was a pretty dark guy, his olive complexion tanned carefully to give him a nice dark tint that looked good on him. And in that moment every last ounce of color drained from his face as he watch him almost like he expected him to yell ‘gotcha!’

“Are you sure?” 

Raising an eyebrow, Harry gave him a dull look. “I think I know what he looks like, Zayn.” 

Raising his hands up, Zayn sighed deeply. “Alright, just need to be sure. Don't want to kill someone without knowing for sure he's who I want.” 

Zayn was moving towards the door before Harry could stop him, luckily Liam was coming in just then, and blocked his path, looking highly confused when Zayn tried to barrel past him with Harry hanging off the back of his shirt to try and stop him. 

“Liam stop him!” Harry cried out, sounding far more desperate than he had meant. 

Liam threw his arm out and wrapped it around Zayn, lifting him up and bringing him back into the kitchen, easily setting him down onto the counter. 

Niall sighed and looked at the other chefs, gesturing for them to leave and moving after them, closing the kitchen door and locking it. 

Zayn was struggling against Liam's hold, but liam was much larger and seemed to be a lot stronger, so the most Zayn accomplished was to wiggle around like a child atop the countertop.   
Liam grabbed him by his shoulders and squeezed hard, holding him in place on the counter and looking at him. “Enough. Or I swear I'll zip tie you.” 

Zayn glared, but made no move to jump off the counter when he was released, instead he sat on the counter with a look of pure animalistic anger in his eyes. 

Turning, Liam looked at Niall as if he was supposed to explain, but the omega merely shrugged, looking just as confused. 

That was then their attention turned on Harry, who was standing by the door with his arms wrapped around himself, gaze lowered and a small frown on his lips. 

Liam sighed, stepping back so he could see them both. “Okay, explain.”


	12. Chapter 12

Liam stared at Harry for a long moment, eyebrow raised and shoulders tensed. “And this fucker isn't dead why?” 

Zayn snorted, glaring at him “you blocked my path to him.” 

Liam swirled around, looking about ready to scream at him, but Niall grabbed his hand and shook his head. “Not the time you two.” 

Moving over to Harry, Niall blew out a long breath. “If I had known, I never would have asked you to help. Aaron is the host, Harry. Its his party.” 

“We need to get Harry out of here.” 

“And go where? He cant be left alone right now.”

“Well I don't hear you saying anything useful!” 

“Fuck off-” 

Harry didn't know who was saying what, he was pretty sure Niall was off trying to break the two up, but he couldn't be arsed with actually paying attention. He felt numb, like every nerve ending in his body had been burnt away until there was no feeling left in them. He didn't know what emotion to feel first, anger, sadness, betrayal. They were all swarming just beneath the surface begging to be let out. Telling the story over again had only ripped the wounds open that much more, if seeing Aaron hadn't already done a good enough job of that. He just needed to go home, lock every door, and never leave. Or better yet.. 

“Louis.” 

That had everyone going quiet, turning to look at him as if he was a mute who suddenly started speaking. 

“I'm sorry what?” Zayn said, eyebrow raised. 

“Louis, take me to Louis. I can't go home and be on my own, not when I'm in this headspace, and you guys have to stay here and finish the job or Niall's chances of starting his own business are wrecked.” 

“Harry I don't care about that.”

“I do.” Harry interjected, not letting Niall speak anymore. “This is important to you, and just because I can't finish the night doesn't mean you can't. The desserts are ready and in the fridge when you're ready for them. Zayn, take me to Louis.” 

Zayn seemed to deflate, sliding off the counter and nodding slowly. Liam looked ready to argue, but something in Harry's gaze must have shown that he would not be swayed, because he closed his mouth and gestured for them to lead the way. 

Turning on his heel, Harry moved to the door and placed his hand against the wooden surface. Apparently it took an internal pep talk to push a door open. It was almost as if he expected Aaron to be standing there waiting for him, partly because he was expecting it, but he wasn't there, and Harry took that as a good sign. He slipped out of the kitchen and started to weave through the people that were clustered around the edge of the area, trying to be as invisible as possible. 

“Harry!” 

Fuck! It's like the fucker had a Harry radar or something. He turned to look, but a hand grabbed him and shoved him forward, Liam's larger frame pushing him forward until they reached the edge of the party. He managed to glance back before he was shoved into the parking lot, catching Zayn saying something he could only imagine was extremely offensive, to Aaron, looking far more menacing than he remembered him being. 

Note to self; don't piss off Zayn. 

It was a few minutes before Zayn came to the car, barely glancing at Liam who had been standing outside Harry's door like a personal bodyguard. He huffed as he slid into the drivers seat, practically slamming his key into the ignition. 

“Chill, the car didn't do anything to ya.” 

Zayn seemed to appreciate his sass a lot less than usual, because he didn't react at all, putting the car in reverse and pulling back from spot. 

Harry felt like he needed to roll down the window to let out some of the tension and alpha hormones swirling around in the car, but he kept his hands in his lap, glancing to his right at Zayn every once in awhile. He had seen Zayn mad before, especially when it came to Aaron, but now he seemed doubly ready to ram someone with the car. Which didn't bode well for anyone currently in front of them. Or really behind them. No one was safe. 

He was pretty sure they nearly killed at least three pedestrians and tailgated aplenty before they pulled up to Louis’ building. Harry slid from the car, looking back to see Zayn getting out as well. 

“I don't need a babysitter to the door, Zayn. Go back.” 

Snorting, Zayn closed his door and came around to Harry's side. “Not happening. Come on. I'm not going until I know you're safely inside.” 

At least things seemed to cool down a little on the way up to Louis flat, Zayn resting a calm hand to his back as they rode up the elevator. Coming to Louis’ door, Harry froze. 

What if he doesn't want to see him? What if he had been looking forward to a night without Harry bugging him? 

“Honestly, Haz, how did you even attract his attention.” Zayn bit out, lifting his hand up to rack his knuckles against the door a few times. 

Good question, Malik. He'll get back to you when he knew himself. 

Every ounce of apprehension left his body when the door opened to reveal a smiling Louis, looking only mildly surprised to see them at his door. 

“Hello, love.” 

Oh that voice. Harry surged forward, tucking himself against Louis’ chest, fingers curling into the others slightly oversized shirt. Louis’ arms came around the omega instantly, holding him securely to his chest and making Harry feel like nothing could touch him. Not when he was with his alpha. 

Whoa Styles. 

He didn't have time to think about it, or really the desire because he was completely distracted by Louis’ lips pressing into his hair. This was perfect, this was what being safe felt like. 

“What's wrong?” 

Harry wasn't sure if he was talking to him or Zayn, but Zayn answered so he figured he was addressing the other. 

“I'll let him explain. I gotta get back. Just watch over him.” 

Louis nodded, waving as best he could with Harry still in his arms before kicking the door closed. 

“Hazza, what's wrong?” 

Harry looked into those gorgeous blue eyes, finding peace in the soft look the other was giving him. “Would you believe that I just missed you?” 

Laughing, Louis brought Harry into the main room where there was a bottle of beer and papers strewn out across the coffee table. “If you had come here alone, yes. The fact that Zayn was with you and looked ready to kill means I'm calling bullshit.” 

Louis fell back onto the leather couch, tugging Harry down with him. Harry happily tucked into the others side, head resting on his shoulder. 

“I'd rather not discuss it tonight, okay?” 

Louis blew out a long breath, but nodded, which was good enough for Harry. 

Pulling forward, Harry reached out to grab the half empty beer, but something on the table caught his attention. 

Louis’ passport rested under a pile of papers, which upon closer inspection were all listings of flats in different parts of America. The one that had the most information was in LA, and was at the top. 

“What's this?” Harry asked, abandoning the beer to grab the papers on the flat, barely taking in the words. 

Louis reached out and took the papers from him, setting them back down with the rest of the papers before pulling Harry into his chest again. “Don't bother yourself with that for now.” 

Oh Harry wanted to bother himself with it, he really really did, but Louis had a way of distracting Harry that really should infuriate him. Louis hooked his finger under his chin, tipping the Omega's head back so that he could get to his lips, capturing him in a soft and slow kiss. 

He'd like to think he could stay like that, tucked into Louis’ side without a care in the world, but his mind wouldn't allow that. 

Pulling back, he sat up straight, pulling himself away from Louis. “Not tonight.” 

Louis raised an eyebrow, hands dropping in his lap. “That's fine, but why? Come on Hazza, you gotta tell me what's going on.” 

Looking away, Harry nodded. He knew he had to tell Louis, especially if he was going to start a fight about Louis moving away soon. Things were becoming so serious so fast, he had to give as much as he expected to take. 

Blowing out a long breath, Harry shifted so he could tuck his legs underneath him. 

“I'll tell you, but you can't say a word until I'm done. Understand?” 

Louis nodded, suddenly looking far more serious. Good, this was a serious matter.

Nodding back, he wet his lips before speaking in a slightly shaky voice. 

“When I was younger I was a hopeless romantic, I believed in true mates, like the whole you were born for someone. I always thought I'd find an alpha to love me and take care of me for the rest of my life. We'd mate and have kids and start up our own pack. It was a pipe dream, really. But one I held onto. I used to make Zayn play house with me where he was forced to pretend to be my alpha. He hated it.” 

Harry couldn't help but smile fondly at the memory of a grumpy little Zayn in his church suit reciting half arsed vows harry had scribbled out in crayon before they started. 

The smile faded however, when be thought of what he'd say next. 

“Then I met Aaron Hastings and it felt like the pieces were falling together perfectly. He was charming, gorgeous, and he wanted me. No one had ever wanted me before. I wasn't used to it. It was like a fairy tale. He was my prince charming. Until we left school.” 

Sighing, he stood up, slowly starting to pace back and forth in front of the coffee table. Louis had a pinched look on his face, but to his credit, he wasn't saying anything. 

“He was fine with taking things slow while in school. We were young, not like we could actually do anything. But he started getting agitated the longer we were together and we didn't make things official. A part of me knew I guess, Zayn says my wolf always knew he wasn't right for me, but I wouldn't know. I wanted so desperately to want to mate with him. That was always my dream, and I finally had someone willing and wanting. So why couldn't I just do it?

Well, he got impatient with waiting. He got mean, yelled, snapped at me, and a few times actually lashed out at me physically. Said it was my fault because I wasn't giving his wolf what it wanted, so his wolf was becoming angry. I believed him too.”

Stopping mid step, he turned to lock gazes with louis, wanting to be looking at him when he said the next piece, to show him how amazing it was that Harry had come to trust Louis so easily after what he was about to explain. 

“During my last heat with him, and my last heat in general, which is a whole other story, he tried to take advantage of my vulnerability. I was needy, desperate, and bound to agree to anything he wanted. He tried to mate me against my will, and I was so drugged up in my own self to realize it. Zayn is the only reason it didn't happen. Zayn always came to check on me during heats, he knew I didn't take care of myself and he never trusted Aaron to do it. I'm honestly surprised he didn't kill Aaron, but needless to say it was the last straw for me. I moved out of the flat we lived in together, hell moved out of the city, came here with Zayn, and tried to start fresh. But with a much darker outlook on life.” 

He’d give Louis props, he didn’t freak out like he had expected him, didn’t look like he was ready to kill, hell he didn’t even have any sort of emotion on his expression as he watched him. He looked more like he was trying to look through him than at him. Which was beyond creeping, and a little unnerving as Harry moved over to sit down on the couch again. 

“You don’t have heats?” 

oh out of everything he could have gotten. “You hadn’t noticed?” 

shrugging, Louis reached up to brush his fingers through his hair. “didn’t pay it much mind. Figured you just had it before we met.” 

snorting, he shook his head, legs curling up underneath him. “No, I haven’t had a heat in a long time. I use suppressants to keep my heats from coming. They make me a different person, but they do the job I need them to.” 

Shaking his head, Louis leaned back, teeth capturing his lower lip and chewing on it a bit. “Harry.. I don’t know what to say.” 

Huffing, Harry stood up, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t even have to tell you this, but he showed up today and I just panicked.” 

“He showed up?”

the snap in Louis’ tone had him turning to look at him, eyebrow arched. “Well.. yeah. That’s why I came here. He was the host of Niall’s catering thingie.” 

Now Louis looked the right amount of angry, gaze narrowed as he stood up. “Where?” 

Harry went wide eyed, shaking his head as he turned to face him fully. “Whoa, Louis. No.” 

“No? No?! He hurt you! Destroyed your trust, took advantage of a poor heat sick omega, and you’re telling me no?” 

Stepping back, Harry put his hands on his hips, glaring at the other. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you. I am not some poor omega. i can take care of myself. And yeah, i’m telling you no. You’re not doing a damned thing.” 

“To hell i’m not!” 

Louis bent down to snatch up his phone, but Harry jumped forward, grabbing at his wrist and pulling it away. “Louis stop it! Please, don’t do this. I told you because I trust you to not overreact, which is exactly what you’re doing.”   
“This isn’t overreacting, Harold. This is the exact amount of reaction I should have. My omega is hurting.” 

His omega

oh fuck. 

Stepping closer, he reached up to cup his face, long fingers curling around the back of the others neck. The height difference didn’t matter, it never did with them. Louis was a decent amount shorter than Harry, but that man still made him melt, and it appeared he had the same affect on the other. 

“I’m okay, i’m safe. I have you. Please.. stay with me.” 

Sighing, Louis nodded, leaning into his touch before his arms came around Harry’s hip. “Fine, but if I see him at any time.” 

“You won’t know, because I won’t tell you.” 

“You’re a shit.” 

“Yeah, but i’m your shit.” 

Louis laughed and nodded slowly, reaching up with one hand to bring him down for a soft, lingering kiss, before he rested their foreheads together. 

“All mine.”


	13. Chapter 13

Voices, why in the world were there voices? Two to be exact, and neither of them seemed to be trying very hard to be hushed so Harry could actually sleep. One of them was Louis, that much he could tell the instant he was conscious enough to actually listen, but the other was foreign and annoying. 

Okay, that was harsh. It was only annoying because he was half asleep and grumpy for being woken up. Bright green eyes blinked open sleepily, vision blurry for a brief moment before it cleared, head rolling to look at the clock on the bedside table. 

“Oh for fuck sake.” 

it was far too early for this shit. 

Sitting up, he practically rolled off the bed, stumbling slightly until he could get his footing. Huffing, he moved towards the bedroom door which had been left ajar. Explains why he could hear the voices so clearly. Grabbing at the door, he pulled it open so that he could see out into the main living area. 

Louis was standing on one side of the coffee table, hands on his hips and biting his full lower lip thoughtfully. He was fully dressed in his work attire, braces and all, and Harry took a moment to admire the beauty that was Louis Tomlinson before his gaze shifted to the man sitting on the couch. 

“It’s a lovely place, with an amazing view, Mr. Tomlinson. I think it’s a perfect fit for you.” 

Louis was nodding, looking down at something on the coffee table that was apparently extremely interesting. 

“My only issue with it is the commute to work. I’m opening up a store and I need to be able to get there easily. The traffic there makes traffic here look laughable.” 

Harry’s heart stopped, taking a huge nose dive into the pits of his stomach as he pulled back. Los Angeles.. they were talking about Los Angeles. Smacking his hand against the door, he let it slam shut, a small whine slipping from his lips as he backed away from it. 

Oh come on, Harry. You knew this was coming. Why are you so damn surprised?

Huffing, he spun around and snatched at his clothes, yanking them on as fast as he could. He had just barely gotten his jeans on when the door opened again, Louis stepping into the room with a look of confusion. 

“Hazza, what are you doing awake?” 

Shrugging, Harry fastened his button, scrambling to grab his shoes from where they had been tossed the night before. “You were talking loud, woke me up. I gotta go.” 

Louis looked over his shoulder as if to check if the male he had been talking to was still there before he stepped into the room fully and let the door snap closed behind him. 

“Harry, let’s talk about this.”

Shaking his head, he slipped into his shoes haphazardly, looking anywhere but at Louis. He could handle a lot, usually this sort of thing wouldn’t do much to phase him. But he had just opened up to Louis, he had put everything on the line last night, and yet he was still thinking of going to the states? 

“Nope, no talking. I have to go home and get ready for work. I’m already probably gonna be late.” Standing up, he moved towards the door, but Louis didn’t seem interested in moving, bright blue gaze watching him. 

“I’ll take you to work.” 

“I need a shower.” 

“Mine works just fine.”

“I don’t have any clothes here.”

“Wear some of mine.”

Snorting, he shook his head. “No offense, but i’m much bigger than you. Just get out of the way… please?” 

Louis looked reluctant, like he wanted to keep arguing the point, but he could obviously see that it wasn’t going to do much good, so he relented, stepping out of the way. 

To say Harry practically ran from the flat was an understatement, and he cursed himself out the entire time he was headed home. Which of course, meant he had to let Louis’ driver take him because his car was still at the venue. 

“I’m an idiot.. an absolute idiot! I mean fuck! Why would I do that? Why would I tell him everything just because he bat his eyelashes and said please? Stupid git…” 

The driver didn’t say a word, which was oddly comforting, being able to say what was on his mind without having someone try to convince him he was just overreacting. He knew that, he wasn’t stupid. He knew he was blowing things way out of proportion and that he should sit down and talk to Louis instead of running away, but it was always how he handled things. At least ever since Aaron. 

He didn’t think about it too much, because by the time he got home, he had about a half hour to get in the shower and dressed before Louis’ driver was taking him to the cafe. 

“I swear Liam if you don’t shut up about him i’ll shove these tongs up your ass. Spread out.” 

Niall’s irritated voice could be heard the moment Harry stepped into the kitchen, eyebrow raising as he watched Liam take a step from a very angry looking Niall brandings a pair of tongs. 

“This looks pleasant.” Harry mused as he moved further into the kitchen, capturing the attention of the two. Niall came rushing over to him, seeming to forget his tussle with the other so he could wrap his arms around Harry’s neck and drag him down into a crushing hug. 

“Are you okay? Did you sleep okay? He hasn’t found you has he?” 

Harry couldn’t help but smile, arms wrapping around the other omega and holding him close,finding comfort in the others worry. “I’m fine, mum. Promise.” 

Swatting at him, Niall pulled away and moved to plop the tongs into the kitchen sink. Liam moved over and clapped him on the back, smiling softly. 

“Zayn get you to Louis’ alright?” 

“He didn’t tell you?” The look Harry got told him not to ask, but Harry would rather not think of Louis at the moment, so he pushed. “You two ever gonna make up? I swear, it’s like i’m friends with teenage girls that wore the same dress to prom.” 

“Zayn so would have worn it better.” Niall piped in from where he was putting together a slider. 

Liam scoffed, spinning to give the blond a dirty look. “Listen you little leprechaun-” 

“What? Zayn has those long legs and he’d look hot in a dress.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Harry shook his head, snorting at the absurdity of the conversation. “I’m gonna go to work.” 

It didn’t matter what he said, Liam was too busy defending his legs to a laughing Niall to really care. So harry just shook his head and turned to push out of the kitchen. It was nice, knowing that not everything had changed. Niall was still a shit head, Liam was still a gigantic dork, and he was still a waiter in a rundown cafe that paid him minimum wage and overworked him. Things were still the same, even if he felt like his world was tipping on its axis because of a man. Because of two men actually.

Blowing out a long breath, he moved to put on the kettle, tugging at the black jumper he had grabbed on his way out of the house. His hair was back in it’s usual bun, a pair of glasses resting on his nose once again. He had no one to impress here, so he didn’t think much about his appearance. 

The sudden sound of someone clearing his throat had him looking over his shoulder, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he looked at the male standing on the other side of the counter. 

Oh for fuck sake. 

“I never understood why you wore those stupid glasses. You don’t need them. They don’t even have a prescription in them.” 

Aaron was resting against the cool surface of the counter, elbows propping up his weight. He was wearing a black shirt that looked like it was just a size too small with the way it hugged his arms and stretched over his chest. His hair wasn’t slicked back like it had been the night before, hanging over his features and casting shadows that had him looking almost dangerous. The smirk creasing his lips didn’t help any. Like he was a predator that had just cornered his prey. 

“How did you find me?” was all Harry could muster out, his brain deciding to take a back seat for this conversation apparently. 

“You were working for Niall last night, the cafe was catering the party, so i just kinda put two and two together. Wasn’t very hard since your shirt had the logo on it.” 

Well okay, that was some sound logic, he really couldn’t get angry with that. 

“What are you doing here? As in, what are you doing in Manchester?” 

Shrugging, Aaron settled himself down on the bar stool that was right next to him, arms crossing in front of him on the counter. “Had an opportunity to expand my business. Couldn’t shoot it down. So i relocated about a month ago.” 

What was with Harry and businessmen? “You actually managed to get your club up and going?” 

Nodding slowly, he grinned. “The Beta Nightclub is doing very well. Youd know that if you didnt run when things got hard. I’m looking into opening up a new location here. Possibly will be locating here myself. ” 

“Got hard? Oh for the love of --” throwing his hands up, he shook his head. “I can’t do this. I’m at work Aaron. What the hell do you want from me?” 

“To talk.” 

Arching an eyebrow, he shook his head. “I don’t believe that’s all you want.” 

Chuckling softly, Aaron moved to stand up, fishing in his pocket for something. When he finally found it, he smiled and held it out. It was a business car, his Aaron Mitchell Hastings written in fancy script across the front. 

“My cell phone number is on there. I just want to talk to you, Harry. You ran away before we could settle things between us.” 

“There’s a reason for that.” 

“Regardless of reasons.” his voice had taken on a sharp tone, one that had Harry stepping back, teeth gritting as he snatched the card from him. “Call me and we’ll set up a time and place. I’d like to take you out, treat you to a nice dinner. Talk.” 

Harry didn’t have much time to process that, Aaron turning around and moving out of the cafe before he really had a chance to even look at the car in his hand. 

Aaron moving to Manchester.. Louis moving to the states. His past and present colliding head first and exploding all around him. His head was starting to throb with the constant stress going through his system, his stomach twisting. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he did know what he wasn’t going to do, and that was call Aaron. He couldn’t do that. 

He wouldn’t do that. 

“Hey, Hazza? Louis just called me asking if you were okay.” 

Looking over his shoulder, Harry raised an eyebrow at Liam, who was holding up his phone. 

“Any reason he’s not calling you?”

Blowing out a long breath, he shook his head and looked down at the card in his hand, teeth chewing on his lower lip. 

“Harry?” 

Maybe he would call him… no harm in just talking. 

Right?


	14. Chapter 14

It wasn't often that Harry put himself into the position to feel extremely out of place. He stayed away from fancy restaurants and high end any things. He didn't like feeling like every last person in the room was watching you like they knew you were an outsider that didn't belong. 

That was exactly how he felt as he sat across the table from Aaron, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a button up shirt. Aaron looked so peaceful, so at home. A striking contrast to Harry who felt like he was gonna ruin the thousand dollar chair he was sitting on just by existing on top of it. 

He didn't even want to look at the menu, the prices making it so he was seriously considering a diet. 

Not like it mattered, because the moment the waiter came over Aaron ordered for them both, everything from appetizers to some fancy French sounding wine he was sure cost more than his flat. 

“I can speak for myself.” Harry muttered, leaning back in his seat. 

Aaron gave him a sideways look, eyebrow raised. “Trust me, I know what you'll like.” 

“My tastes have changed.” 

“No they haven't.” He had Aarons full attention then, his body twisting to face him. “Hm, let's see; you're dating Louis Tomlinson, a well known, wealthy businessman who can take care of you, he's an alpha, and has a bit of a control issue. Sound familiar?” 

Harry just gaped at him, probably looking like a complete loon. 

“You haven't changed at all, Haz.” 

Closing his mouth, Harry opted to just glare, hands dropping in his lap. “Keeping tabs on me now?” 

Shrugging, the alpha smiled, giving the waiter a quick nod when the whine was set in front of them. “Once I saw you the other night, I did some digging. I have to say, Louis is an interesting choice in fuck buddy.” 

His glare darkened, shoulders straightening. “He is not a fuck buddy. He's my alpha.” 

“But no mate mark?”

Shrugging, Harry lifted his hand to fiddle with his fork noisily against the side of the plate. “I'm not ready yet. I don't have to explain myself to you. You screwed up, I left. Who I see is none of your business.” 

Aaron gave a short laugh as he nodded, reaching out to take the wine bottle from it's ice to pour them both a glass. 

“Same old Harry Styles. You will never change. How long do you plan on dragging Mr Tomlinson around without giving him what he wants before you run?” 

Glancing away, Harry bit the inside of his cheek, head shaking slightly. “This was a mistake. I need to go.” 

When Harry moved to get up, Aaron shot his hand out, wrapping his fingers tightly around Harry's upper arm and yanking until he was back in his seat. 

“Its rude to just walk away, Harry. We're having such a pleasant time.” 

Harry winced, trying to pull away from the alphas bruising grip. He didn't seem ready to let go, at least not until he was sure Harry was staying put. And when he did let go, he didn't relax as if be was ready for harry to go bolting for the door. 

Which didn't seem like such a bad idea. 

“Pleasant is not the word I'd use to describe this dinner.” Harry bit out, teeth clicking together as he eyed the wine cautiously. 

Aaron, however, grabbed his glass and downed the liquid in one fluid motion. Sighing, he set the glass down and watched him a moment. 

“So Louis is not a subject you like to discuss. I understand. We will talk about something else.” He smiled, the look genuine enough even if it did hold evil behind it. “Zayn is looking good.” 

“Yeup, he still plots your death.” 

Nodding, the older male laughed softly. “Ahh yes, I remember how he gave me a rope one year for Christmas and told me to make his job easier. He's a sweet guy. Seeing anyone?” 

“Do you really care?” 

Snorting, he shook his head. “No, no I don't. If I had it my way I would have backed him over with my car years ago. But that's not legal so he breathes.” 

Blowing out a breath, Harry watched as their food was set in front of them. He wasn't even gonna comment on the fact that Aaron was paying hundreds of dollars for a meal that was barely big enough to feed a rat. 

“What do you want, Aaron?” 

Sighing, Aaron busied himself with pouring himself another glass of wine before answering. 

“I told you. I want to talk.” 

“Yeah about my boyfriend and how much you want my best friend dead. Not topics that scream comfort, Hastings.” 

Smiling, Aaron rested back against his seat. “Always the sassy one. Used to love it when you called me by my last name.” 

“And I loved it when me mum cut the crust off my sandwich. We all grow up sometimes. What do you want?” 

Sighing, Aaron gave him what could easily be described as a ‘I'm so tired of your shit’ look, but Harry had grown immune to those living around Zayn. 

“I want you.” Shocker. “But not in the way you think. Or at least not only in the way you think.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Harry tilted his head to the side. “Care to explain?”

Nodding, he sat up and started to cut into the smallest chunk of steak Harry had ever seen. “I told you I'm opening up a new location for my club. Well, it needs a manager.” 

Holding his hands up, Harry scoffed. “Oh please don't tell me you want me, someone with no experience in managing anything, to manage a nightclub.” 

Shrugging, Aaron took a bite of his food, taking his time in chewing it and swallowing before he spoke. “You can learn.” 

“You're insane.” 

“I know I can trust you.” 

“You want to control me. If I'm running your business you're my boss and I can't just up and run.” 

Watching him for a moment, Aaron smiled. 

“No one accused you of being stupid, Harry.” 

Shaking his head, he pushed back from the table. “No you see, that's where you're wrong. I'm accusing myself of being stupid for even coming here. I am leaving.” He barely managed to dodge the others hand and stand up before he got a hold of him. “Touch me and I'll have Louis on the phone faster than you can blink.” 

Laughing, he pulled his hand back. “And you think that little twink scares me?”

Smirking, Harry shrugged. “If you were smart, he would.” 

He didn't really stay long enough to see Aarons reaction, and didn't focus enough to notice the people watching him judgmentally as he walked away from the table and back out into the crisp night air. He knew the way to his car was to the left, but he kept walking straight, not sure where his feet was taking him but trusting them anyway. 

He didn't know what he had expected from this dinner. Closure maybe. But now he was left with a lot more pain in his chest. His wolf whined inside him, scratching at him to get their alpha. And for once, he didn't fight it. 

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick message to Louis asking him to meet him at the small park across from the restaurant, his fingers shaking as he perched himself on a bench. 

He didn't get a reply, and at first he thought Louis wasn't going to show, but almost twenty minutes later, a car pulled up just to his left and Louis climbed out of the back seat. Harry's whole demeanour changed the moment he saw the other, shoulders slumping and body relaxing.  
Standing up, he practically ran into Louis’ arms, face pressing into his neck. 

“Hey, it's okay, I'm here. What are you doing out here?” 

Sighing deeply, warm breath hot against Louis’ paled skin, he shrugged. “I um.. Was at dinner.” 

Louis leaned back enough to get a good look at Louis, eyebrow raised. “With who?” 

“Why are you moving to LA?” 

Okay, that was an obvious avoidance but Louis didn't comment, a long breath slipping from his lips as he gestured for Harry to sit down. When they were both on the cold metal bench, Louis spoke. 

“My business is expanding, we're buying out smaller companies and converting them. Some of those companies are in the states, mostly in LA. I'm not moving there, Harry. My home is here, with you. I'm just buying a flat there so when I do eventually travel down for work I have somewhere to stay.” 

A small smile creased Harry's lips, and it was like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. “You're not leaving me?” 

Smiling softly, he shook his head, hands coming up to cup Harrys face. “Now why would I leave the best thing to ever happen to me? Now why were you out here all alone if you were at dinner with someone?” 

Shaking his head, Harry moved, shifting on the bench so he could straddle the alpha and press in close. “I don't want to talk about it.” 

Louis’ hands came up to grip st Harry's hip, fingers curling securely into the bone as he looked up at him. “You never want to talk about it.” 

“You're right.” 

Bending down, Harry captured Louis’ lips in a deep kiss, hands moving to sink into the older male's hair so he could curl his fingers securely into the locks. 

Louis wasn't moving, Harry had been overreacting the entire time. Of course that wasn't anything new, but that realization plus the buzz of his dinner with Aaron had their simple make out session heating up. 

Louis hands slid down, fingers curling around Harry's back side to bring his hips down onto his own, teeth nipping at Harry's lower lip as he let out a soft growl. Harry pressed back into his palm, fingers tugging at Louis’ hair as he groaned softly, the sound encouraging. 

It turned into an outright whine when Louis pulled from the kiss. “Not here,” he barely managed to get out between heavy breaths, “the car. Too cold out here.” 

All Harry could do was nod, mind too jumbled from the effects Louis always seemed to have on him. Standing up, Louis scooped Harry up like he weighed nothing, guiding the omega to wrap his legs around his waist as he moved back towards the car, lips finding Harry's once again in a deep kiss. 

When they got to the car, it seemed Louis was far too distracted to open the back door, because Harry ended up pressed against the side of the thing, louis hips rolling forward against the other and eliciting a moan from him as a blissful friction started to build between them. Harry's hands couldn't stay still, gliding down Louis arms, gripping at his shoulders, dragging down the length of his spine. He couldn't seem to get enough of touching the other while Louis seemed content to torture him. 

Louis’ lips found their own adventure, sliding down the column of Harry's neck as his hips started up a rhythm against the omegas, hands keeping him firmly pinned against the side of the car. 

“Louis-” Harry moaned out, hands tugging at his shirt to try and get his attention as his head fell back against the roof of the vehicle. 

“Patience is a virtue, my love.” Louis teased, hips giving one last taunting roll before he was pulling Harry away from the door. 

“A virtue I never had.” Harry grunted out before he was being lowered into the back seat of Louis car. He hadnt even realized Louis had opened the door, but he didn't dwell on it because moments later, he had Louis on top of him, his body heat encasing Harry as he surrounded him. He wanted Louis lips on him again, but the alpha seemed preoccupied with something in his pocket. 

Pulling out his wallet, Louis fumbled until could get a card out, holding it out to someone who was sitting in the front seat. 

“Get yourself some dinner, Preston… And maybe some dessert. We may be a while.” 

The driver, now named Preston apparently, grinned knowingly and nodded, taking the card and mumbling a thanks before he was out of the car. 

Twisting, Louis grabbed at the still open back seat door and pulled it shut before he was focusing completely on Harry again, pressing down onto him. 

“I'm pretty sure your driver hates me at this point.” 

Louis grunted, bending down to resume his attack on Harry's neck. “You really want to talk about Preston right now?” 

Letting out a soft sigh, Harry tilted his head to the side, body arching up against Louis. “Absolutely not.” 

Chuckling, Louis lifted himself up, reaching back to remove his own shirt before he tossed it to the front of the car and started working on Harry's. It was all a blur to Harry, one moment they were pressed together, kissing, touching, just relishing in one another's presence, then the next moment Harry was being yanked up, Louis' hands guiding him to turn so that he was on his hands and knees in front of the older male. Clothes had been long since taken off and forgotten to the front of the town car, Louis body hovering over Harry’s as he pressed long, slow, open mouthed kisses down the length of Harry’s spine. Louis’ hands seemed to explore the omega’s body, fingers brushing along his sides, across his lower back and around to rest flat against his stomach, pulling him back.

“Louis, please.” the words came out before Harry really thought them through, a needy groan slipping from his lips as he pressed back against the older male's hips, leaving no space between them. 

“Patience, love.” Louis’ voice was a soft purr as he came back up, kissing and nipping at the skin just behind harry’s ear, one hand coming up to brush his long brown strands away from the parts of his neck he wanted. 

“We’ve already established I don’t have that virtue.” 

chuckling, Louis nodded and pulled back, which was the exact opposite of what Harry had wanted, until he looked back to see Louis reaching for the glove compartment in the front of the car. He rummaged for a few seconds before he seemed to find what he was looking for and moved so his back was pressed against the door behind them. The sound of a cap popping open had Harry raising a brow, twisting so he could get a better look at Louis. 

“You always keep a bottle of lube in your car?” 

Louis watched him a moment, a small grin creasing his lips as he put a decent amount of the cool gel on top of the pads of his index and middle fingers. “Ever since I met you, i’ve felt the need to always be prepared.” 

Harry really didn’t have the time, or desire, to make a comment back, because right after he was done speaking, Louis dipped his hand down, the cool gel shocking Harry’s heated skin. At first, Louis took his time coating the others entrance, fingers stroking against his skin until he had Harry pressing back for more, the omega’s hand moving up to press against the window of the door in front of him as he let out a needy sound. 

With careful delicacy, Louis middle finger pushed past the muscles keeping him out, sliding in until he felt he could easily start moving, the digit curling in just the right way that had Harry gasping, head falling forward as he pressed back against him even more, silently begging. 

Louis was many things, sweet, sassy, mischievous, loud. He was also the world's biggest tease, slowly working Harry open with one finger until he was confident enough that adding a second one wouldn’t hurt the other, then he was torturing him even more, fingers scissoring open and wrist twisting, pushing and pulling at the most tauntingly slow pace. 

Harry was lost, soft gasps and pleased breaths leaving barely parted lips as he moved to try and anchor himself against the sensations assaulting him. His body was tense, hard, and beyond ready. A throb had started between his legs minutes ago, and no amount of pressure made it go away. Harry tried to reach his hand down to relieve it himself, but Louis grabbed at his wrist, twisting it up behind his back and holding it there as he pressed his fingers deep inside him, enticing a long groan from the younger. 

“Don’t touch yourself. That’s my job.” Louis’ voice had gone dark, gravely, and it did wonders at making Harry shiver, the command in his tone making it hard to keep himself propped up. When he was released, Harry’s hand moved to rest against the floor of the car, the hand on the window slipping so that he was laying out flat against the back seat, arse propped up for Louis and back arched. 

“Come here.” 

Suddenly, Harry was being yanked up, Louis shifting his position so that he was sitting on the middle part of the back seat, pulling Harry and making him straddle him. Harry’s hands moved to grip the seat on either side of the others head, bending down to capture his lips in a deep kiss that had Louis groaning. 

“Condom.” was mumbled against Harry’s lips, but Harry really didn’t pay any attention, fingers coming up to sink into the others hair so that he could hold him firmly in the kiss, lips working against him as he pressed down against Louis’ naked body, shuddering at the way the others shaft felt pressing up against his arse. 

“Fuck the condom.” Harry gasped out as he rolled his hips forward, Louis’ hands coming to grip at his hips in response, a soft sound spilling out from the alpha as he pulled from the kiss to rest his head back. 

“Harry.. neither of us are on anything-” 

Harry tugged at the others hair, teeth grabbing onto Louis’ lower lip and tugging, hips rolling down again to get the other to stop talking. “Fuck-the-condom.” he repeated, pressing in as close as he could. It was the only amount of convincing Louis seemed to need, hand moving to grab at the bottle of Lubricant that had somehow found itself on the floor during all the commotion. 

Harry’s hands moved from Louis’ hair, shifting to press up against the roof of the car as he lifted his hips, giving the other room to apply a decent layer of the gel on himself. He didn’t want to waste any more time, didn’t want to wait one more moment, his legs shifting so that he could plant his feet on the seat around Louis, body leaning back so he was resting back against the back of the passenger side seat. 

“Come here.” Louis said once again, but this time instead of shifting their position, he guided Harry’s hips down, further and further until that familiar stretch had Harry moaning, the head of Louis cock pressing into him. Reaching out, Harry grabbed at Louis’ shoulder, fingers curling into his skin so that he was digging half mooned indents into his skin. His grip tightened the further down he went, moaning softly when he was fully seated on the other. 

Louis’ hand moved to grab Harry’s side, yanking him forward until they were chest to chest, hearts pounding almost in time with each other as Harry moved so he was on his knees again. Their breath mixed together, hot and heavy as Louis’ hands braced against Harry’s shoulder blades, holding him close as he started up a slow pace, helping Harry lift and lower his hips in time with his own movements. 

What started out as frantic and needy had suddenly turned soft and sweet, lips brushing over jawlines, gliding down the column of each other's throats. Small gasps and groans filled the car as they moved against each other, Louis pushing up deep with each thrust of his hips. Their hands seemed to have a mind of their own, touching and gliding across one another's bodies, pressing into each other. 

Harry’s head fell back, a long groan slipping from his lips as his hips rolled, bringing Louis deeper inside him. “Fuck, Louis..” it was whine, something that was very out of character for Harry…

okay that was a lie, Harry was a whiner, but it showed just how vulnerable he was to the other, how much he was willing to give to him. He was Louis’, completely and totally, he knew that already, but he wanted to show Louis’ that. 

It wasn’t long before they were both laying out across the back of the car, panting softly and holding onto each other like they were one anothers life line. Harry’s head rested on Louis’ chest, lips pressing against his skin every few minutes as Louis brushed his fingers up and down the length of his back. 

“I love you Harry..” 

Louis’ voice was soft, breathless, and his lips were pressed into his hair as he spoke, but Harry heard him perfectly and he couldn’t help the small smile that creased his lips. Lifting his head, he looked at him, shifting so he was more fully on his chest, even if he was much bigger than the alpha. 

Louis loved him, him. Out of all the people he could have fallen for, could have paid attention to, he loved him, Harry Styles. What had he done to deserve that? Hell, he had spent most of their relationship running from that, but he was still there, saying he loved him. It was like a dream, a beautiful beautiful dream that made him feel like he was floating in mid air. Opening his mouth, he went to say how much he loved him too, but what came out wasn't anything he had ever planned on saying, at least not right then.

“I was at Dinner with Aaron tonight…” 

Well then...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone for giving me their input on the Ziam portion of this fic! I am working on their separate story right now and will be posting the first chapter once I have it completed. Also, please don't fault me for the sort of rushed ending of the chapter xD Smut seems to be much harder for me to write when it's here than when i'm on my rp tumblr xD oops? anyway, Ziam will be up asap


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO sorry for the huge gap between updates! I could not, for the life of me, figure out where I wanted to go with this chapter. I typed out probably three different versions of this chapter before I finally got to this. I'll try to get them out more regularly for you guys. I know you guys say take my time, but I want to update for you guys. This is also a kinda short chapter, which again, sorry, but I managed to get everything to happen in a short chapter I guess xD Hopefully now that the plot is actually unfolding I'll have longer chapters for you guys.

“I'm sorry, what?” 

Okay, so Louis wasn't screaming at him, that was a good sign. He also figured he'd give it time before he started counting his victories. 

“I- well… He's the one I was at dinner with tonight. He came by the cafe yesterday and asked me to come out with him.” 

“So you went?” 

Still not yelling, good. Sitting up, he shifted so he was no longer on top of Louis, who was sitting up anyway so he just sat back. 

“I never said I was bright. He wanted to talk and I didn't think it would hurt to just listen.” 

Snorting, Louis moved to grab his jeans from the passenger seat, twisting so he could pull them on while snatching Harry's and tossing them to him. 

“Oh right, wouldn't hurt to listen to the man you just told me terrified you to the point you ran away.” Louis tone was bitter as he lifted his hips so he could get his jean up his hips. 

Harry was starting to wish he'd yell, clutching his jeans to his chest like an idiot as he shrugged slightly. 

“I didn't stay long. Realized it was a waste of time.” 

“I could of bloody told you that.” 

Slumping back against the door, Harry moved to start getting dressed as best he could without moving too much. 

Louis had his shoes on and was dipping out of the car before Harry had finished fishing for his briefs to slip them on. Harry hadn't forgotten that Louis had opted to go commando. 

Not now Harold! 

Once he was dressed, he fumbled to find the door handle and yanked it open, practically falling from the car. 

He’s style, he's grace, he's gonna fall on his bloody face. 

Standing up, he looked at Louis, who had his back to him, facing the direction of the restaurant. 

“Louis-” 

“come on, we need to get you back to your car so you can go home.” 

It was hard to mask the pain that lanced through him at the almost dismissive tone that Louis had used, hands moving to grip at his hips. 

“Louis, it’s not like I’m dating him behind your back. It was a dinner.” 

Turning to face him, Louis blew out a long breath, almost as if he was trying to keep himself under control. He didn’t blame Louis for being upset, especially when it came to who he had been at dinner with, but Harry was trying to desperately show Louis that he was okay. 

“I came to you, didn’t I? I left the restaurant and instantly called you. Can I go home with you? Please?”

Louis watched him, the wheels in his head clearly turning as he seemed to debate with himself the pro’s and cons to letting him come home with him. 

“I’ll end up there anyway. You know I will.” 

That seemed to crack into his defenses, because a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, his expression softening as he nodded slowly. 

“Yeah you will, might as well cut out the middle man. I’ll have your car fetched in the morning. Get back in while I call Preston.” 

Victory!!!

And it seemed it was the beginning of a very good stretch.

Harry’s more than quick exit seemed to get through to Aaron somehow, because for the next few days he didn’t hear or see the alpha once. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or nervous about the implications that came with that, but he opted to not worry about it. 

He went to work as if nothing had happened that next day and refused to talk about it to anyone, to Niall, Liam, and of course Zayn’s great disdain. 

In fact, Harry didn’t talk about Aaron at all, not even to Louis, who was preparing to go out and look at the flat available in LA. 

At the end of the second week of Aaron’s silence, Harry was sitting at the end of Louis’ bed with his legs crossed in front of him. 

“How long will you be gone?” 

Louis was moving about his room, gathering the last few pieces of clothing he’d need on his trip, humming something under his breath like he always did when he was concentrating. 

“A few weeks at max. I want to oversee the final meeting before the deal goes through, i’ll also want to make sure that everything goes well with the apartment.” 

Harry smiled, far more relaxed with the LA move than he had been before. it wasn’t permanent, just a place to stay when he was out on business, that he could handle. Reaching out, he snagged Louis’ shirt on his way by, tugging until the other wolf fell on top of him as he fell back. 

“I love when you talk business to me.” Harry’s nose moved to brush down the column of Louis’ throat, taking in his scent as his hands moved up his back. 

Louis chuckled and nipped softly at his throat, eliciting a small gasp from the omega as his nose came up to press into Harry’s curls, kissing at his head softly before pulling back to look down at him. 

“As much as i would love to explore that in great detail, I really do need to be getting ready. My flight leaves in the morning.” 

Sitting up, Louis moved off of Harry, whom had a large pout creasing his lips as he sat up. 

“Can I come with you to the airport?”

Harry had stopped caring if he seemed clingy, this was his alpha. His wolf whined deep inside him just thinking about a few weeks without Louis, but he had promised to face time and call him every day, so he forced it back. He was clingy, not pathetic. 

well… 

“No Haz. It’s a really early flight, and I wouldn’t want to wake you with how much you’ve been working.” When he received a large frown, Louis sighed and moved to sit down next to him, fingers reaching up to brush through the others long strands, pushing them back out of his face to tuck them behind his ear. “I don’t want to go, i truly don’t… But i have to, and you need to focus on your job while I’m away. And if anything happens-” 

“Nothing will” 

“if something does… call Zayn first then me. Understand?” 

Harry opened up his mouth to argue, but Louis silenced him with a long kiss, his thumb brushing across his cheek. 

“I’m not joking. I don’t trust him. He will be back, and if i’m not here when he does show up I need to know that you have someone I trust to take care of you here when you call.” 

Blowing out a long breath, he nodded slowly, wetting his lips slowly as he watched him. “Okay.. Zayn first, then you. But nothing is going to happen.” 

“I hope you’re right about that. I really do.” 

Harry didn’t like being without Louis, he really didn’t. So when he woke up the next morning and Louis’ side of the bed was empty, a tightening started in his chest. Slowly, much slower than his usual lazy self allowed, he got up and pulled on some clothes. 

“He’s unreasonable!” 

The yell could be heard through the entire diner as Harry stepped inside two hours later, making him pause and look towards the kitchen. Liam?

Stepping inside the kitchen, he raised an eyebrow as he watched Liam pace back and forth in front of a very tired looking Niall. 

“Are we okay in here?” 

“Harry!” Liam rushed over to him, making Harry tense and step back. 

“How the bloody hell do you get Zayn to actually call back? I’ve been trying all week and he’s dodging my calls.” 

Zayn had been absent ever since the party, or at least to Liam he had been. He still had no idea what had happened between the two that made it so they were so at odds, but not even Harry could get Zayn to spill. 

“What did you do?” 

Liam sighed, shoulders slumping as he moved to lean against the counter. “It’s a long story.” 

Nodding, Harry shrugged “Then I can’t help ya. Mind not yelling so that the customers don’t think you’re a loon? i mean, you are one, but we don’t need them to know that.” 

Liam glared, which was a very different look for the lovable alpha he had grown so fond off. 

“Bugger off.” 

Shaking his head, he moved to leave the kitchen. “I’m telling you this right now, Liam. If Zayn doesn’t want to talk, you have better luck getting information out of a wall. let him come to you.” 

Liam snorted, shaking his head. “I’ve known him for about four months, I think I know that.” 

Harry froze, hand on the door. “What did you just say?” 

“I’ve known him four months… well three months and like two weeks.” 

“Harry, what’s crawled up your trousers?” 

Harry was already shoving out of the kitchen. How? How had he managed to not pay any attention? He was usually so good at keeping track of the days, ticking them down one by one until he needed to take another round of his pills. How had he been such a wanker to forget? And how in the world was he not already feeling the affects? was he? It had been so long since he had actually let himself feel his heat, actually let himself go through it. Was this the beginning? No that wasn’t possible. 

shit shit shit shit. 

Slamming the bathroom door closed behind him, he turned to lock it, after quickly making sure he was by himself. Moving to the counter, he looked at himself in the mirror. How did you tell when you were on your heat? Did you look different?

He didn’t, he looked like the same old Harry. Long brown hair, bright green eyes, tall-ish. There was nothing different about his appearance. But how? 

Three months and two weeks Liam had said. 

Harry’s heats were never late, he always started feeling the effects right on the third month mark. They were like clockwork, no matter how hard he tried to stop them completely. But he felt fine. Well, not fine, he felt a little worn down, but he had chalked that up to stress about Louis leaving. 

Reaching into his pocket, he dialed up the first person he thought about to help answer his questions. 

“Hey darling, what’s going on? you don’t usually call during the day?” 

Just hearing his mothers voice helped him, but not nearly enough. 

“Hey, mum. I have a question, did your heats ever just… not come?”   
Anne was silent for a second, which only served to worry him more. 

“Well of course, Love.” 

oh thank god. 

“When I was pregnant with you and your sister.” 

Oh for the love of God. 

“Yeah but I can’t be --” 

There was a long stretch of silence where Harry just stared at himself in the mirror. 

“Sweetheart, do you need me to come down?” 

_fuck the condom_

oh bloody hell, why had he said that? Was he a complete idiot? Never fuck the condom!

“Harry, you’re starting to worry me. Do you need me to come down there?” 

Nope, that’s not what this is. He can’t be. He’s sick. Yeah that’s it. He’s just terminally ill or something. 

Did he just say he’d rather be terminally ill than pregnant? 

this is why he couldn’t be pregnant! 

“Harry!” 

Harry jolted when his name was yelled into his ear, pulling the phone back for a second before he shook his head. Putting the phone back in it’s place, he frowned. 

“Mum… come down... “ 

“I’ll be there as soon as possible. Do you need me to bring anything?” 

He was still staring at himself in the mirror, but now his gaze had lowered, watching his stomach in his reflection as he blew out a long breath. 

“Oh yeah… I need something.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to preface this chapter with saying that the Brianna mentioned in this story is not nor was she inspired by Briana jungwirth. She was inspired by someone very close to me so I decided to interject her into the story.

“Two weeks is really early.” 

“I know that. He insisted on doing it immediately.” 

“And if it comes back negative?” 

“Then he takes it again, Zayn.”

“And if it comes back positive?”

We all panic. 

Anne hadn't said that. In fact, Harry wasn't sure what Anne's reply was because he was too busy staring at the opened box in front of him. Anne had shown up a few hours previous, and had apparently picked up a Zayn on her way to his flat. The two of them were standing outside the closed bathroom door as if he couldn't hear them, but he didn't have the energy to get upset. 

He knew why they were so tense about the situation, it was one of the main reasons he was too. But none of them actually wanted to say it out loud. 

“Harry, sweetie. Have you taken the test yet?” 

His mums voice was soft on the other side of the door, trying to coax him to get out of his comatose state and actually speak. 

He had. He had taken it at least ten minutes ago, so the answer was already there for him, he just couldn't bring himself to look. 

Two weeks was early, and even if it said he was pregnant there was a large possibility that it was a false positive. He needed to not freak. He need to not- 

“Should we call Louis? Have him come home?” Zayn's voice rang through the door and had Harry twisting to unlock the door. 

Swinging it open, he glared daggers at the alpha. “If either of you call Louis, I swear I'll” 

“You'll what? Freeze up and stammer at me?” Zayn quipped, pushing into the bathroom to glance around. “You took it? Where is it.” 

Harry turned to look at him, frowning and shaking his head. “I can't, Zayn.” 

“Oh stop it. We need to know, where is it?” He twisted to look at the toilet, making a small sound of victory when he saw the test resting on the ledge above it. 

“Zayn no.” 

Snatching it up, Zayn held it out to Harry without glancing down. “Look at it.” 

“No.” Harry shoved at his hand to try and put some distance between him and the test. 

“Harry I'm holding a stick you peed on. I'm traumatized right now. We will never be friends the same way again, look at the damn test.” 

Harry glared, shaking his head, stepping back. But Zayn wasn't letting him shy away from this one, stepping forward and holding it up to Harry's eye level. 

“Harry. You need to know. Look at it.” 

Harry's gaze stayed on Zayn for a long moment before he gave in, green hues sliding down to the test still hovering in front of him. Slowly, he reached out to take it from the alpha, his other hand lifting to touch his belly. 

Anne had gotten the very easy to read ones. It either said “pregnant” or “not pregnant” there was no misreading it, no misunderstanding it. It was either yes or no. It was simple. 

So why in the world did it take so long for the answer to sink in? 

Written in small letters in the small window, why was the space so bloody small, was written; Pregnant.

“Harry?” 

Anne had come into the bathroom and took it upon herself to take the test from him. It didn't take nearly as long to understand the word, her gaze flicking up to look at her son. 

“We'll get a blood test. Be sure. These things give false positives all the time. And it's still early.” 

“Or you're pregnant with Lou's baby and you can't run this time.” 

Harry narrowed his gaze at Zayn and Anne shot a glare at him that had Harry cringing. 

“What? Too soon?” 

Oh yeah, it was too soon and it was still too soon when he was making cracks a few days later sitting in the examination room. 

“I'm just saying, life has a funny way of kicking you in the nuts.” Zayn was resting back in the seat a little away from the bed, probably for his safety as Harry laid back on the bed with a hard glare on his face. Anne sat closer, her hand running up and down the inside of Harry's arm to try and keep him calm. Didn't work when your best friend was Zayn Malik. 

The door opened just then and a tall, sadly familiar, blonde stepped into the room with a warm smile on her face. 

“Harry, good to see you again.” 

Doctor Brianna Porter was one of the nicest people Harry had met. And the fact that they knew one another on a first name basis, was something Harry didn't like to dwell on. 

“Brianna. Wish I could say the same.” Harry shifted, straightening up in his seat as he moved his arm into place on the arm of the bed on instinct. 

“Its still very early. You are aware of this, right? Its very hard to accurately tell if your pregnant or not at almost three weeks.” 

He nodded, sighing softly as he watched Brianna gather the supplies she'd need. The last few days had been hard. True to his word, Louis phoned him daily and Skyped him every night before Harry fell asleep. It had been hell keeping something so big from him, but he had to be sure it was happening before he went and made a big deal about it. 

“I know, but if anything will be accurate, it's a blood test. Right?” 

Brianna nodded, grabbing the stool across the room and pulling it over next to him where she started to lay out the blood kit on the bed next to his hip. 

“It'll take a bit of time. The results won't be in for a few days. But yeah, it'll tell us for sure.” 

Harry nodded and looked away, looked anywhere but at the needle that would be going into his arm or at the two people watching him with unreadable expressions. 

He knew what they were thinking, he didn't need to see it in their eyes. 

Harry had known long ago he wasn't fit to be a father. He could barely take proper care of himself, how was he expected to be the main means of survival for a young helpless child? He knew that back then and he knew it now. He didn't want to see how much his mum and best friend knew it too. 

A tight pressure on his arm followed by a cold feeling came over the inside of his elbow, making Harry glancing down at what was happening right as Brianna sunk the needle into his arm. 

“Bloody hell, Bri. Warning would be nice.” He shot out, frowning as he looked away from the nauseating sight of his own blood filling the tube. 

“Oh come on, Harry. You can't seriously be afraid of blood. Be a man.” 

Harry snorted, shooting the blonde a sideways look. “Other people's blood is fine. My blood is supposed to be in my body, not out. So yeah, I don't like seeing it.” 

Rolling her eyes, Brianna smiled up at him as she pulled the first tube off the IV, attaching another. 

“How much you need there, doc? One for the test, the other for a secret kink I don't know about?” 

Brianna smirked at that, giving Harry an amused look. “You don't need to know what I do in my free time.” 

Once she was done, she slid the needle out of his arm and held a white gauze to the small hole. “You know the drill.” 

Harry did, reaching out to apply pressure to the gauze as he watched Brianna gather everything up. 

“So Doc, think that test can tell us if he's got any brain damage? I'd like to know that.” Zayn was grinning from where he was sitting, elbows resting on the armrest of his seat. 

Brianna glanced back at the other as she grabbed the piece of tape she had set aside and replaced Harry's fingers with it. “No, Zayn, sadly it won't. If it was that easy we would have the explanation for you. Sadly that's a different, far more expensive test.” 

Harry snorted, and he was pretty sure his mum had to force back a smile behind her hand as Zayn let out a dramatic gasp. 

“I'm hurt, Doc. So very hurt.” 

Brianna brushed off the other, turning her attention back to Harry as she gathered up the vials and all the trash. 

“I'll put a rush on the tests. But even then you're looking at two days maybe three before we get anything back. Just be patient, don't stress yourself out, and get some rest. I'll call you with the results.” 

Don't stress himself out.. He was starting to think she didn't know him at all. 

He huffed, sitting up to look at his mum who had been silent the entire time Brianna had been in the room. She was watching him, expression unreadable as she leaned back in her seat. 

“I'm not telling him.” 

It came out before he thought about it, and it had Anne frowning softly. 

“Harry.” 

“Not until I know mum. I can't just spring this on him then have it all be a huge stress for nothing.”

Zayn got up, moving to sit down next to Harry on the bed, hands on his knees as he watched him. 

“Can you keep it from him? He comes home tonight.” 

He never said it would be easy, and he knew he'd have to think up some reason for Anne so suddenly have shown up so soon after her visit, but Louis didn't need to know before he knew for sure there was something to know. 

“I'll make it work.” 

Which, apparently, was much easier said than done. Louis was scheduled to arrive at eight that night, and boy was that man punctual. At least when it came to flights, he liked being late for anything else. 

He was also a breath of fresh air. He didn't care how many times he saw the alpha on the computer. Nothing beat seeing him in person. Preston had picked him up from work to take him to the airport to see Louis home and the moment the wolf stepping into the airport Harry was in his arms, clutching onto him like he was his life raft in the middle of a shipwreck. 

“Hi precious. I've missed you too.” Louis’ voice shook with amusement as he encased Harry's larger frame in his arms. 

“You're never allowed to go back.” Harry's voice was muffled, speaking into the skin of his throat as he Nuzzled in closer, his wolf instantly melting into his alpha. 

“I have many people who would be very upset with that.” 

“I'm more important.” 

“This is true.” 

Something about the way Louis was holding him had changed, his arms locking a bit more around him as if to protect him. 

“Everything okay, Haz? I can sense your distress.” 

Oh stop it. Stop being so perfectly amazing. You make it so hard to not spill my guts to you. But he needed to keep his mouth shut. Telling him about this pregnancy opened up a door he didn't want open just yet. Or ever. So if he would avoid telling him everything he hadn't told him before he would. 

“I'm okay, promise. I just missed you.” 

Not a lie. He felt much better in Louis safe embrace. So he really was okay, for now. 

Someone behind them cleared their throat and Harry glanced back to see a smiling Preston with Louis bags waiting behind them. 

“Welcome home, sir.” 

Louis beamed at the man, unraveling himself from around a disgruntled harry long enough to pull the driver into his arms. “Thanks Preston. Give me those. I'm capable to hold my own things.” 

Taking the bags from the other, he motioned for Harry to follow as they started making their way out of the airport. 

“So tell me everything. Nothing happened?” 

Don't ask questions. His mental voice was about as whiny as Harry wanted to be as he followed close behind Louis. 

“Did I tell you something happened? Nah, it's been pretty boring. Mum is in town again.” 

Louis’ eyebrow rose. “Didn't she leave not that long ago?” 

Nodding slowly, Harry's own eyebrow rose. “What? My mum can't want see me more than once a year? You're not the only one with a loving family.”

Laughing, Louis rolled his eyes as he shifted his grip on his carry on. 

“Okay okay. Well I can't wait to see her. She's sweet.”

Harry smiled as if he had something to do about that, his gaze proud. “She's perfect.” 

Chuckling softly, Louis nudged him playfully “mummy's boy.” 

“Arsehole.” 

They both laughed, and for a moment Harry was perfectly at peace. That was until they got outside where the car was waiting. 

He didn't want to seem paranoid, he really didn't, but Harry knew Aaron's car. He had driven the same expensive town car since high school and treated the damned thing better than he had ever treated Harry. He had spent many summer days sitting in the grass while Aaron bent over the damned thing fixing it up and touching up the paint. So he knew it when he saw it. 

And he did. He'd bet his life on it, he saw it parked a few cars back from Louis’. He didn't want to look too much into it, maybe he was going home, but he doubted it and it had him tensing, practically diving head first into the back seat of Louis’ car as him and Preston got his things into the trunk. 

“You okay, babe?” Louis questioned as he slid in next to him, eyebrow raised in a look of concern. 

Nope 

“Yeah fine. Let's just get home.”

Louis didn't seem convinced, not even remotely, but he leaned in and kissed him instead of questioning it, his fingers moving to sink into the omegas long strands. 

“Okay, home. I have a lot of catching up to do with you.” The look in his eyes shined his intent, and at first Harry felt guilty. 

But seriously what was the worst that could happen? He gets pregnant again? Deciding to not dwell on the bad, he smile and shifted, moving to straddle Louis as he bent in to kiss him. 

“I love you, harry.” 

Louis’ voice was a soft whisper, lips hovering just inches from Harry's as he held him pressed to his chest. 

Harry smiled, looking him over for a moment before he bent in for another long, soft kiss. 

“I love you too, Louis.”


	17. Chapter 17

One day turned into two, then two turned into three, by the time the fourth night rolled by and there was no word from the doctor's office, Harry was constantly on edge. He couldn’t keep dodging Louis’ questions, his concerns about why he was so quiet sometimes or why he looked sick. He felt sick, and that was what scared him. 

At this point morning sickness was going to kick in before he got the damn results back from the blood test. 

if that wasn’t bad enough, Harry was starting to think he was going insane. Ever since he spotted Aaron’s car at the airport, he could have sworn he’d seen it at least three more times. Once outside the cafe, another time waiting outside the store, and even outside his own flat the night before. He was paranoid, either that or Aaron was stalking him. 

He was prepared to bet it was the latter. 

When he voiced his concerns to Louis he seemed to already know, his gaze hardening as he nodded slowly. 

“I have people looking into him. I don’t trust him.” 

Harry snorted, shaking his head slowly. “You don’t trust him? Try being me.” 

Leaning towards him, Louis pressed his lips to Harry’s temple, something that he was finding out was an instant relaxant for Harry. His shoulders slumped as he pressed into the gesture, eyes drifting closed as his hand came up to lightly grip at Louis’ shirt. 

They were sitting rather close in a small little restaurant that Louis had wanted to try out. Louis’ hand rested casually on his upper thigh, which was distracting enough as it was, then you add those soft full lips and he was ready to drag him into the bathroom to pull a Zayn and Liam. 

Or at least he would if he wasn’t so worried.

“He won’t touch you, I promise. I won’t let that happen.” Louis’ voice was soft, soothing, and actually did a good damn job at making him feel like he was protected and safe.

Sighing, he pulled back and nodded slowly, leaning in to kiss Louis softly. “Yeah okay. I’ll be back okay? I need to go use the restroom.” 

Louis grinned, nodding as he reached up, the pads of his fingers brushing over Harry’s cheek. “Yeah okay. Love you.” 

Smiling, Harry stood up and moved out of the room, disappearing from Louis’ view before he fell back against the wall, hands coming up to cover his face. 

Louis watched Harry disappear around the corner, a long breath slipping from his lips as he leaned back against his seat. Something was wrong, he could feel it deep inside him, his wolf whining to comfort it’s omega, but it wasn’t that easy when Harry was the single most annoying person in the world when it came to keeping secrets and dodging questions. 

He blamed that on Aaron completely, and he fully intended to deal with the arsehole the moment he got his hands around his throat. 

Something on the table lit up, catching Louis’ attention. A quick glance showed it was Harry’s phone and that he had a call from someone named Brianna. With a quirk of his brow, Louis glanced over towards the bathroom to see if Harry was coming back. With a sigh, he opted to answer it, reaching out to snatch the phone off the table with a sigh. 

Tapping the answer button, he lifted the phone up and said a quick “Hello.” 

he didn’t get much more than that out before the woman on the other end was speaking. 

“Mr. Styles! So sorry that I didn’t get to you sooner, things have been crazy. Anyway, the results from your test are in and congratulations are in order. You’re pregnant.” 

The world came to a shuttering stop. All other sound around him drowned out, his heart skipping a few dozen beats as his grip on the phone got dangerously tight. 

“Pregnant?” 

His voice was barely there, a small squeak compared to his usual tone. 

“Yes, Mr. Styles. Pregnant.. are you okay, Harry?” 

Louis didn’t notice he was pulling the phone away from his ear until he was hanging up the call, the device falling to the table as he glanced back over to where Harry had disappeared. 

Harry was hunched over the toilet bowl, a loud groan slipping from his lips as he pushed his hair back out of his face. “Shit.” 

That was the understatement of the year. Pulling back, he reached out to flush the toilet before he made himself stand up. He didn’t want to face Louis like this. He wanted desperately to chalk what just happened down to being over stimulated about the whole Aaron situation, but something in his gut, probably the rolling he felt telling him he wasn’t done, was telling him other wise. 

Closing his mouth tightly, he shook his head and pushed out of the stall. Nope, he wasn’t going to do that. He wasn’t going to sit here for an hour throwing up. 

After washing his mouth out, he forced himself to push out of the bathroom, hands slipping into his pockets as he walked out into the main dining room. He made his way back to the table with a sigh. 

“Hey love, do you think we can go? Something we ate must have seriously jacked up my stomach.” 

It was only then that he actually looked at Louis, who was watching him like he was about to sprout a second head. Raising an eyebrow, he dropped his hand from his stomach his gaze turning questioning. 

“Louis?” 

Louis kept watching him for a moment before he slowly lifted his hand, finger pointing towards Harry’s phone which was face down on the table next to him. 

“Have something you’d like to tell me?” 

Harry’s blood went cold, his gaze flicking back and forth between his phone and Louis. Reaching out, he grabbed his phone and unlocked it, clicking into the call log. 

oh shit. 

Brianna had called… 

“You answered my phone?” 

Okay that was not what he needed to be focusing on, but he couldn’t help but try and put himself on the defense. 

“Seriously, Harry?” 

Louis’ tone had gone hard, his gaze hard when Harry looked up at him. 

“Yes, seriously. You shouldn’t have answered my phone. I don’t answer your calls.” 

“I don’t hide that I might be pregnant from you!” 

He had him there. But he was also yelling, and they were starting to attract the attention of the people around them. 

“Lower your voice, Louis.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Sighing, Harry slid his phone into his pocket. A little late for that you git. 

“Because I didn’t feel the need to tell you until there was actually something to tell.. what did she say?” 

Shaking his head, Louis suddenly stood up, pushing his chair back violently with his legs as he stepped away from the table. 

“You should have told me.” 

Harry stood at the same time Louis did, watching as he rummaged through his pocket until he found his wallet. 

“What did Brianna say, Louis?”

He seemed to have stopped listening, throwing down enough cash to pay for the meal with a considerable tip before he was moving, forcing Harry to scramble to follow him. 

“I’m not Aaron, you can tell me thing, Harry. It hurts me to think that you truly believe you have to keep secrets from me.” 

throwing up his hands, Harry let out an exasperated sound, giving the back of Louis’ head a dirty look as they stepped out into the night air. 

“Louis! Would you look at me?” 

That had Louis spinning around, gaze guarded as he watched Harry. He hadn’t actually expected Louis to stop, so when he did he sort of jolted to a halt himself, lips pulling into a tight line. 

“I didn’t keep this from you because I thought I had to. I just didn’t want to get your hopes up. I didn’t want to tell you about the possibility until i knew the facts. My luck just kinda sucks so she called when you were with my phone.. what did she say?” 

Louis’ gaze dropped, and at first he wasn’t sure what he was looking at, but it clicked, his own gaze lowering down to his stomach. His hand came up, resting on the flat surface before he looked back up. 

“Oh god..” 

Louis looked up at him and raised his eyebrow, hands slipping into his pockets. “Have something you need to tell me now?” 

Panic, that was the first emotion that raced through his system, sheer panic that had him speechless. 

He couldn’t be a father, he couldn’t do it. He had already proven that once before, he couldn’t do it again. Not like this. 

Louis must have seen it in his eyes, because he was coming over to him, bringing Harry into his arms as he brushed his fingers through his hair. 

“Hey, we will get through this, okay? 

Harry wanted to melt into him like he always did, but he couldn’t. Pulling back so he was a few feet away from Louis, he shook his head. “I need to go home.” 

Louis’ arms dropped as he nodded, a long breath slipping past his lips. “Okay, we can go back to the flat and-” 

“No!” He grimaced at the way his voice raised on its own, cracking slightly as he spoke. “No… I want to go back to my flat.” 

“Harry.” Now Louis looked hurt, his blue gaze darkening a bit as he watched him. 

No no no don’t look at him like that. Don’t do that. You’re not allowed to do that. 

“Please.. Just, i want to go home.” 

If Louis wanted to argue, he didn’t. He also didn’t go with him to his flat, instead calling Preston to come and take him to his flat while he went in his own car. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to happen. Zayn’s warnings about keeping it a secret burning in his ears. He should have listened, but instead he had chosen to hide, and now he felt like running. 

Thankfully, Anne had chosen to stay until he got the results back, and her reaction to the news was far more soothing than Louis’ had been. 

Her arms encased him, pulling him flush to her chest as she kissed at the top of his head, nose brushing into his strands soothingly. 

“You can do this, Haz.” 

Shaking his head, Harry pulled back just enough to look at her. “No I can’t, mum. I have never been the type to be able to do this.” 

Letting out a long breath, she pulled her arms away from him and shrugged. “You have Louis now to help you. Give him a chance. You never gave Aaron one.” Harry shot her a sideways look, which she quickly lifted her hands at. “Never said you didn’t have a right not to. But this is different. You and Louis can do this, you just have to try.” 

Harry sighed, moving to sit on the couch with a huff. 

Anne must have realized the futility of the subject, because she seemed to drop it as she moved towards the table. “Well here, you got a package today. Doesn’t have a name or anything on it. It was just sitting in front of the door when I got home from the shops.” She moved over to him, setting a medium sized back on the coffee table before she kissed his head once more. “I’m going to go get in the shower. Then we’ll eat ice cream and watch movies.”

Harry let out a small groan, watching as she moved into his bedroom. “I’m pregnant, not Gemma!” 

Anne laughed as she shut the door, leaving Harry to himself. 

He took in a long breath, head resting back against the back of the couch. Everything was crashing around him, he felt like he couldn’t keep his feet on the ground for longer than a few moments and it was becoming harder and harder to distinguish what was real and what was just a horrible nightmare. He was hoping it all was. 

He knew he shouldn’t have snapped at Louis like that, he knew that he needed to talk to him and figure out what they were going to do, but right then he just needed to digest it all… and hopefully not throw it right back up. 

His gaze shifted over to the package, a sinking feeling seemed to twist into his stomach looking at it. He didn’t like the idea of a random package showing up without a name, but he was never good at resisting temptation. 

Standing up, he pulled his keys from his pocket, cutting into the masking tape keeping the box closed. Dropping the keys onto the table, he pulled the flaps open and looked into the box. 

Inside was a baby blanket, a large A embroidered into the light blue fabric. A folded piece of paper rested on top of it, Harry’s name written in an all too familiar handwriting across the front. 

With shaking fingers, Harry reached inside and grabbed it, trying desperately not to slip into a full blown anxiety attack. 

Inside, was a scribbled message, simple enough, but it did the trick in making Harry’s heart skitter to a stop. 

_Fatherhood, it’s something special. Not like you ever gave me the chance to know that. Watch out, Hazza. Wouldn’t want Louis finding out the real reason you kept it a secret. - A_

Bloody Hell. Just what he needed.


	18. Chapter 18

Harry snatched up the box moving out to the balcony and setting it out by the railing. He didn't want it in the flat, he didn't want anything to do with it. Stepping inside again, he tried to get himself to calm down. Aaron had always known how to rile him up, he knew what buttons to press and how hard to jab it to get the best reactions from him. 

Right then was no different. 

His heart was pounding in his ear no matter how hard he tried to make it stop, and before he could stop it, his stomach was showing him just how much it did not like his stress level. 

He was still bent over the trash can when Anne came out of his room, her thin fingers brushing Harry's long hair back out of the way as she watched him. 

“Guess there is no denying it now, is there?” 

Harry let out a choked laugh, his hand moving to rest on his stomach. “No I guess not.” 

Straightening up, Harry looked at Anne who was pulling back to grab a washcloth. 

“You think I can do this?” 

She looked over at him as she ran the cloth under the tap, a small smile creasing her lips. “I thought you could do it before.. Now that you have Louis? I know you can.” 

Anne moved over, washing Harry's face before she kissed his cheek softly. “You have to tell him everything.” 

Everything was a hard thing to ask him to spill, especially when everything meant he had to admit he had lied, but he knew she was right. If they were going to work, he needed to tell Louis everything and pray that he wouldn't get too upset. 

So when the next day came and he was in the elevator on his way up to Louis’ office, he was a nervous wreck. 

Louis office was on the top floor, in fact it was the top floor. It was huge, had its own bathroom with a full shower and walk in closet. It was beautiful and decorated with a bunch of landscape pictures, some of which Harry had taken himself. Sitting on his desk was the same picture of Louis with his siblings and next to it was a picture of him with Harry curled up on the couch, both making a face to Zayn behind the camera. It warmed his heart to see it as he moved to sit down in Louis seat, resting back. 

Rustling to his left had him looking over at the bathroom door, watching Louis come out adjusting his tie. He paused when he saw Harry, eyebrow quirking up. 

“You look way too good sitting in that seat.” 

Harry laughed, shaking his head as he stood up, hoisting himself on the desk instead. “We need to talk.” 

Louis slowly came over to take his seat, his hand resting on Harry's knee. “Should I be worried?” 

All harry could do was shrug, his hand moving to play with Louis’ fingers. 

“No, not really, maybe.” 

Louis sighed, reaching over to press the intercom button on his phone “hey Bonnie, hold all my calls. I'm in a meeting.” 

“Of course, Mr. Tomlinson.” 

And with that, Harry had Louis’ full attention. Which of course had him more nervous. 

“I haven't been completely honest with you.. And it's coming back to bite me in the arse.” 

Louis raised an eyebrow, head tilting to the side, but he didn't say anything, clearly wanting Harry to just say it. 

Blowing out a long breath, he picked Louis’ hand up off his knee to lace his fingers with his. 

“I didn't exactly tell you the full story as to why I left Holmes Chapel. He did try to force me to mate with him and Zayn did get me out, but I stayed with him for a few months after that. The typical story of an abusee making excuses for the abuser and staying with him. I stayed in hopes that he'd learn to stop hurting me and we could be happy.. Didn't work out.

Right before I left I had a similar thing happen to what happened with us. I had gone on suppressants right after the whole incident but he found out and hid the pills, forced me off them. But my heat never came and I got worried.” 

Louis’ hand tensed inside Harry's, which was Harry's signal that he knew where this was going. 

“I was pregnant. I was pregnant, I was scared, and in a bad relationship. I couldn't be a father, and I knew Aaron couldn't be one either. So Zayn, me mum and sister, and our friend Perrie helped sneak me out of Holmes Chapel and took me here upon my request. That's when I met Dr. Brianna Porter. 

I tried to keep Aaron from finding out but he has some weird psychic power and somehow knew. He tried to find me but I was staying with a friend at the time so he couldn't track me down.”

Louis was watching him, eyebrow raised as he seemed to digest everything. “You didn't-” 

“Have an abortion? No I didn't. I couldn't. I carried the baby to full term, then put him up for adoption. It was a closed adoption, I know nothing about where he went but the agency assured me it was a good home.” 

Louis nodded slowly, watching him for a long moment “and our baby?” 

Sighing, Harry looked down at his belly. “I don't think I can be a parent, I panic easily, I barely take care of myself, how am I supposed to take care of another person?” 

Louis tugged at his hand, forcing him off the desk and pulling him down into his lap. 

“With my help. I'm not Aaron. I won't hurt you. I love you so much, I want you and I want this baby. We can do this together.” 

Harry blew out a long breath, curling up against Louis’ chest tightly. “I have one other thing you need to know.” 

He could hear the dread in the long breath Louis let out as he looked down at him. 

“You tell me you're married and I'm gonna scream.” 

Laughing, Harry shook his head “no, not married. But Aaron knows about me being pregnant. I don't know how, but he does. He sent me a package last night with his old baby blanket. He had always said he wanted to give it to his first born and he sent it to me with a note.. He knows I'm pregnant and I know I'm not crazy now, he's been following me around.” 

Louis grip on him tightened, his gaze darkening as he watched him. 

“I hate that guy.” 

Harry nodded, blowing out a long breath “you and me both.” 

“I'm gonna kill him.” 

And the scary part was he didn't look like he was exaggerating, the anger behind his gaze making Harry pause for a moment. 

“Louis-” 

“No, don't Louis me. You're mine, and he's scaring you. I am not gonna just let that slide.” 

Harry shifted on his lap so he was facing him more, fingers lifting to try and sooth Louis by messing with his messy strands. 

“Killing him isn't the answer.” 

The way Louis raised his eyebrows showed Harry how little he agreed, but Harry ignored it. 

“Louis, no. I don't need to be visiting you through a glass window or from across the table where we can't touch.” 

Louis scoffed, leaning in to kiss his cheek “that is saying I'd be stupid enough to get caught. Now get, I have work to do.” He started to nudge him off his lap, kissing at his arm as he did so. 

Harry laughed and leaned down to kiss him long and soft, shaking his head slightly with amusement.

“Okay fine. I'm gonna stop by the cafe to tell the idiots the news, then I'm gonna raid your fridge.” 

Louis snorted, watching him stand up with a wide grin. “No work today?” 

He shook his head as he moved towards the elevator doors. “Nope, day off. So you're stuck with me when you get home.” 

“Oh goody.” 

Harry shot Louis a dirty look as he called the elevator, which opened right up. “Love you, you git.” 

Louis laughed, leaning back against his chair. “Love you.” 

Liam and Niall reacted about as over dramatically as he had expected, both squealing and flailing like teenage girls before lunging at him to hug him tightly. Niall sounded like he was half sobbing half screaming and Liam started to pet his hair while whispering ‘our baby boy’ 

“You guys are smothering me.” 

Niall laughed, pulling back to give Harry a wide smile “you're naming them Niall right? Boy or girl, it works either way.” 

Liam scoffed, looking at Niall with a raised brow.

“Who you trying to kid? They'd name their daughter Niall and she'd be bullied.” 

Crossing his arms over his chest, Niall shrugged. “She can handle rotten kids.” 

“Never said it would be the kids who would bully her.” 

Niall scoffed and Harry rolled his eyes, his lips turning up into a bright smile. “You two are absolutely ridiculous.” 

Niall turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. 

“So when’s the wedding?” 

Harry stared at the blond, expression blank for a long moment before his eyebrow quirked up. “You can’t be serious.” 

Niall raised his eyebrow right back, hands resting on his hips. 

“Dead serious! You don’t think i’m gonna let this boy just come in, knock you up, and not put a ring on it, do you? In the words of the queen herself, if he likes it he should put a ring on it.” 

Rolling his eyes, Harry reached out and pinched Niall on his side, a huff of breath slipping from his lips. “Why do I put up with you?” 

Niall smiled wide, swatting his hand away as he laughed lightly. 

“‘Cause you love me.” 

Shaking his head, he looked at Liam, who had a bright smile on his face watching him. 

“How are you and Zayn?” 

That killed the smile, the alpha blowing out a long breath as he shrugged. “We’re working on it.” 

“Gonna ever tell me what you two were fighting about?” 

With a shake of his head, he moved over to put a hand on Harry’s belly. “Nope. Now hush up, I am trying to bond with my godchild.” 

“Whoa! Who said you were the godparent!” 

Harry sighed, watching as the two started up a whole new argument about who was going to be the godparent to Harry’s unborn child. It was nice, having friends that cared so deeply, even if it did get on his nerves just a bit. They were his family, and they were going to be there with him the entire way. 

He was still smiling when he left the cafe, a long breath slipping from his lips as he lifted his hand up to gather his hair into his hands, fingers yanking the hair tie off his wrist so he could secure the curls in a bun on top his head. He barely noticed it, it was just a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, but it was enough to have him doing a double take, eyes squinting as he saw that familiar car. 

“Okay, fuck this.” swerving, he moved the few feet needed to be standing next to Aaron's car, his hand lifting to smack against the glass a little more violently than he had planned. When the window rolled down, Harry bent down to look inside. 

Aaron was sitting in the driver's seat, eyebrow arched over the rim of his sunglasses as he tilted his head to the side. 

“Harry.” 

“Stop following me.” 

chuckling softly, Aaron reached up to pull his glasses off, tossing them onto the dashboard in front of him as he blew out a long breath. 

“You don’t waste any time with casualties do you?” 

Raising an eyebrow, he rested his arms against the door. “Nope. Stop following me. And take your blanket back.” 

“Oh you got that?” 

This man had to be the most infuriating little git in all of the UK. 

“Aaron, cut the shit. I’m not playing this game with you. Either stop following me on your own, or expect a restraining order in the mail. This has stopped being funny.” 

Aaron nodded slowly, his gaze slowly moving to look out the windshield. 

“You told him?” 

Pursing his lips, he nodded slowly, glancing down at his hands. 

“Yes.” 

“You’re keeping this one?” 

“Aaron..” 

That seemed to be all the other needed, his hand reaching out to snatch his glasses back up, slipping them onto his nose again as he reaching out to start the car back up. He didn’t even look at Harry as he reached over to start rolling the window up, forcing Harry to straighten up and step back up onto the curb, hands slipping into his pockets as he watched the car pull away from the sidewalk. 

Harry didn’t like this, not even remotely. There was only one thing that was scarier than angry Aaron, and that was Aaron when he was emotional. His teeth clicked together as he glanced around, almost as if he expected someone to pop out and try to hurt him. 

A part of him felt bad, that small part of him that would always care for the alpha, but it was very small. Shaking his head, he moved back towards his car, pulling his keys from his front pocket as he went.

His little beat up car sat in it’s usual parking spot around the back of the cafe, still looking highly out of place compared to the cars that surrounded it. But that wasn’t what got his attention, what had him narrowing his gaze was an envelope that rested on top of the trunk. Slowly, he moved over to it. His fingers shook as he opened it, pulling out the few papers that were folded inside. 

Unfolding the papers, his frown only deepened. Inside was a copy of a birth certificate and the paperwork that Harry had filled out to at the adoption agency, signing all legal rights to the baby away. His heart clenched, eyes closing as he refolded the papers. 

He knew that this wasn’t going to be easy, he had known about Aaron’s need to make everyone feel small, but he hadn’t known that it would go this far. 

That restraining order was starting to look better and better. 

Or letting Louis just kill the guy.. 

Okay Styles, let’s not resort to first degree murder. 

Slipping the papers back into the envelope, he moved to unlock his car, moving to throw the envelope into the glove compartment as he started up the car. 

He’d show Louis when he got home, he’d handle it like an adult. He wouldn’t let his natural need to bolt for the farthest continent take over. That was what got him into this mess in the first place. 

But first… he needed to talk to Zayn.


	19. Chapter 19

Zayn didn’t offer the answers to his questions like he had hoped he would be. In fact he had more questions than he did answers. 

His gaze flicked over the birth certificate, a small frown creasing his lips as he seemed to read and reread the printed words. 

“But how?” 

Harry snorted, curling up more into himself on the couch, arms curling around his knees to hold them flush to his chest. 

“That’s why i came here. Was hoping you could tell me.”

Zayn looked at him, eyebrow raised in a mocking look. 

“I’m good, not that good, Haz. I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know about this sort of thing.” 

Sighing, he shifted so he could look over Zayn’s shoulder at the birth certificate. It wasn’t so much the adoption paper that had him worried, although the how on that was definitely more important than the how on the birth certificate. 

What worried him was that with the birth certificate came the information needed to actually find the kid and his parents. Aaron having that information was on the top of Harry’s bad list.

“Birth certificates are public records.” 

The voice had Harry twisting to look behind them. They were sitting in Liam’s flat, Zayn having stayed there the last few nights. It seemed the two were working out their issues, but this one particular issue had Harry raising an eyebrow.

“Danielle, you know about this?” 

Zayn was looking at the girl as if she was the most annoying person in the world, which was usually a look reserved for Harry, but right then he seemed willing to push that to the side. 

The girl, apparently named Danielle nodded, coming into the room with a sigh. 

“Yeah, I do. I’m in law school, remember?” 

Zayn narrowed his gaze and gave a small grunt, holding up the birth certificate. 

“You were saying?” 

Rolling her eyes, Danielle came over and took the birth certificate, scanning it.

“All birth certificates are kept by the state. They’re public records and can be requested by anyone. You just get a copy though. See? The signatures are blacked out.” She twisted the paper to point out the black boxes in all the sections marked ‘signature’. “It’s just a copy, can’t be used for anything official. You have to know either the kids name or one of the parents name to get it, though.” Handing the paper back to Zayn, she rested against the back of the couch, hands holding up her weight. 

Harry raised an eyebrow, moving to grab the adoption paper. 

“And this?” He asked, handing it to her. 

She scanned it and her expression fell. 

Well that’s not good. 

“I have no idea how anyone got a hold of this. Was the adoption closed?” 

Harry sighed, nodding slowly as he resumed his fetal position. 

“Yeah, it was closed. I know nothing about where the baby went after I gave birth.”

Danielle nodded, chewing on her inner cheek as she looked between them. 

“There’s no way he could have gotten a hold of this legally. Adoption papers are not public like birth certificates are. The only people that can request them are the parents, both the adoptive and the birth. If it was a closed adoption it would be even more difficult to get a hold of any of the papers, let alone this one. I can tell you it’s a copy though. The originals are with the adoptive parents.” 

He nodded, releasing his legs and letting them fall flat as he reached for the paper again, setting them down on the coffee table. 

“We have to find them before Aaron does. I can’t let him just barge in and ruin this kids life.” 

Danielle raised an eyebrow, looking between them. 

“Baby daddy drama?” 

Zayn gave her an irritated look as he set the birth certificate down. 

“Is there a way to find them, Danielle?”

She sighed, shaking her head as she pushed from the couch. 

“Not unless you’re a professional hacker.” 

“You don’t think Aaron has one of those do you?” 

“Harry he’s not batman.” 

Harry shot Zayn a dirty look as he rubbed at the back of his neck. 

“Well, arsehole, at this point I wouldn’t put anything past him. And who the hell is she?” He pointed to Danielle who had moved to the kitchen and was pulling out a mug. 

“She’s not important. You need to go home and try and relax.” 

Giving Zayn a incredulous look, he snorted. “Yes, because that’s happening.” 

“Harry you need to rest. Stress isn’t good for the baby, you remember what happened last time you got all stressed out?” 

“I was close to my due date! Labor was gonna happen with or without the panic attack.” 

“Go home.” 

Zayn really didn’t leave much argument in his tone, and he also kept the documents with him as Harry moved out of Liam’s flat and down to his car. He did a double sweep of the thing before he got inside, making sure that there wasn’t any other presents for him, like the severed head of a cat. 

Okay that was going too far. 

No, honestly it wasn’t. But he decided to let the thought go as he started the car, pulling away from Liams building. The entire drive to Louis’ flat was filled with a lot of double checking his rearview mirrors and cautious driving that probably drove the people behind him insane. But he didn’t care. He was paranoid and that kept him safe most of the time. 

Stepping into the flat, he was greeted by the sound of a small child’s laugh, and the sound had his heart skipping a bit as he froze in the doorway. 

“Doris stop wiggling so much, imma drop ya.” 

Doris? Wasn’t that one of Louis’ little siblings? Stepping into the room, he looked over the scene before him. 

Louis sat on the couch, a pair of jeans and an oversized tee shirt replacing the suit he had been in earlier. A small child was wiggling on his lap, an equally small child resting in a woman’s lap next to him. Louis was laughing along with the small girl, adjusting his grip as best as possible to make sure she didn’t fall. 

It was a heartwarming sight, and for a second, Harry just let himself enjoy it. That was until the woman holding the other baby looked up and noticed him. Her smile was ear to ear, bright, and beyond warm as she stood and shifted her son to her hip so she could yank Harry into a one armed hug. 

“Oh you must be Harry. So nice to meet you.” 

Harry hesitated for a moment before he moved to hug her back, clearing his throat as he pulled back a bit. 

“Um.. Hi.” 

Louis looked up and smiled, cradling his sister to his chest as he got up. 

“Harry, this is me mum. She showed up right after you left my office so i took the rest of the day off. I tried to call you to warn you but you didn’t answer.” 

Nodding, Harry slipped his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. 

“Yeah sorry, it’s been a crazy day. Nice to meet you Ms. Tomlinson.” 

“Deakin. But please, call me Johannah.” 

Harry nodded slowly, smiling softly as he looked at the young boy in her arms. 

“This must be Ernest.” 

He smiled looking at the young boy who giggled and reached out to grab a hold of a stray lock of his hair that had come out of his bun. 

“No baby boy, don’t pull on the nice boys hair.” Johannah cooed as she pulled the baby’s hand away from Harry, moving to sit down. 

Louis moved over to Harry, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. The gesture was short, way too short, but it managed to sooth Harry completely as he leaned against Louis’ chest. Or at least as much as he could with his sister still latched onto him. 

“Baby take over?” Harry mused, a small smile on his lips as he looked at Doris. 

“Yeah, I’ve missed them. Haven’t seen them much since their birth.” 

Nodding slowly, he cleared his throat, chewing on his tongue a moment. 

“I have to tell you about some things later, okay?”

Louis’ gaze turned concerned for a moment before he nodded, leaning in to kiss at his cheek. 

“Of course, come on. Come talk with me mum. She’s been dying to meet you.” 

Louis’ version of talking with Johannah was sitting there for three hours straight while Johannah and Louis bantered about the simple things, the babies tugged at Harry’s hair, and they all went through six cups of tea between them. It was nice actually, the sense of family, the feeling that he belonged. 

But nothing beat the way the bed felt, molding to his body as he laid out on his side, watching Louis rub in the lotion he had on his hands as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

“Your mum is nice.” 

Looking over at his shoulder, he smiled and nodded. 

“She’s perfect.” 

Nodding, Harry propped his head up on his hand, elbow resting against his pillow as he reached out to grab at Louis’ arm, pulling him down onto the bed in front of him. 

“It’s good to see you so happy and relaxed.” 

Louis’ arms moved to encase Harry, pulling him down onto his chest as he moved to release Harry’s hair from the bun it was in, running his fingers through the curls as he kissed at his forehead. 

“She’s happy to see i’m so well taken care of. She hasn’t seen me smile so much since-” 

The way Louis paused had Harry frowning, resting his chin against Louis’ chest. 

“Since?” 

Louis looked at him and smiled sadly. 

“I was engaged before you… her name was Eleanor and I loved her dearly.. But she got sick and passed away before the wedding. Me mum never thought I’d get over it.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Harry cocked his head to the side. 

“She wasn’t-”

“-A wolf? No. She was human. But she wanted to turn. Didn’t work out that way. But it’s okay.. Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?” 

Harry sighed, he’d much rather stay talking about Louis, but he could see that Louis was ready for a subject change, so he told him about his run in with Aaron and everything that they learned from Danielle about the documents. 

“Who’s Danielle?” 

Harry snorted, shrugging softly. “I was kinda hoping maybe he told you. He seems to be all chatty with you now a days.” 

Louis raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. 

“No, i have no idea who she is. But honestly that’s not the point. The only way that Aaron could have gotten a hold of that adoption packet was if he had legal help, as in a lawyer. One that wasn’t afraid to throw away their career if they got caught.”

Nodding, Harry let out a long breath. 

“Well I don’t remember him having any lawyer buddies. Granted, most of what I remember from him is the inside of his bedroom…” 

Louis made a face, yanking at his hair a bit with a huff. 

“Hush up.” 

Harry laughed, looking up at him. 

“Kinky.” 

Rolling his eyes, Louis shoved Harry off of his chest, laughing softly as he twisted so he was on his side. 

“This is serious, Harry.” 

Rolling onto his side so he was facing Louis, he nodded a bit. 

“I know. I know above anyone else that this is serious, Louis. But i don’t see any point in dwelling on it when there is literally nothing we can do right now. In fact I don’t know if there is ever going to be something we can do.” 

Shifting, Louis moved so he was laying out horizontally on the bed with his head resting on Harry’s belly, face twisting to press a soft kiss to his belly. 

“We’ll figure it out, okay? Together.” 

Harry smiled, reaching his fingers down to brush through his hair, letting the strands tangle around his long fingers. 

“Together?” 

Humming softly, he kissed at his belly again, this time pushing his shirt up so he could get to his skin, nose brushing over his navel at his teeth nipped lightly at him, making Harry’s muscles contract underneath him as a shudder ran up his spine. The alpha looked up to give him a loving look, his hands slowly working their way up his sides as his body moved to nestle between his legs. 

“Yes, my sweet omega. Together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So very sorry about the long delay in updates! If you follow me on twitter than you know that i've been having MAJOR writers block lately. If you don't follow me on twitter and would like to get updates on my progress with chapters follow me at @allourstitches so you'll know when delays will happen. You can also ask me questions there! I'm more likely to answer questions there than here


	20. Chapter 20

Days melted into weeks and Harry didn’t hear a word from Aaron, which was far more unnerving than having him around and vocal. Being silent meant he was having time to plan something out, and that never ended well for anyone involved. 

But he decided not to focus on it, letting himself melt into the pregnant life. 

… which sucked. 

“Tell him i’m not insane.” 

“You’re insane.” 

“How rude! I’m not insane. Come on, Brianna, something is wrong. No one person should be vomiting this much. I didn’t vomit this much when I was pregnant the first time.” 

Brianna was sitting in her stool, looking between Louis and Harry as they went back and forth, Louis’ eyes rolling as he looked at her to get some sort of verdict on Harry’s mental state. 

“You’re not insane, Harry.” 

“HA!” 

“But nothing is wrong.” 

“Ha right back!” 

Harry pouted softly, looking at Louis with a huff, which got Louis laughing as he pressed a soft kiss to the side of his head. 

“What you’re experiencing is perfectly normal, and it just means that the baby is healthy and growing. Now lay back, let’s get an ultrasound.” 

Harry wasn’t that big, in fact he only had a small little bump, but already he felt slightly self conscious about the weight he was gaining, but he didn’t get much time to think about it before Louis was pushing him down with a fond smile. 

“You’re impossible, Hazza.” 

Giving a cheeky grin, he shifted so he was comfortable, pulling up his shirt so he could expose the small bump. 

“Hold up!” 

The voice rung out as the door swung open, Niall bursting through the door with a very annoyed looking Zayn trailing behind him. 

“No one gets to see this baby without uncle Niall there.” 

Louis looked over at Harry, eyebrow raised as he mouthed the words ‘uncle Niall’ with a questioning look in his eyes. Harry laughed softly and shrugged, holding up his hands as he looked back over at Niall. 

“Well, come on.” Harry retorted, gesturing for him to come over as Brianna come over, pulling the machine with her as she looked over the group that was forming. 

“Waiting for anyone else or are we good?” 

Harry laughed, shaking his head to let her know she could she could proceed, he laced his fingers with Niall’s as he practically crawled on top of his legs, nudging Louis out of the way a bit so he could get a good view of the screen. Zayn moved to sit on the edge of the bed, hands folding in his lap as he looked at Louis with a small shrug. Louis seemed amused, his gaze alight as he shifted so he was closer to Harry’s head, his hand moving down to brush his fingers over Harry’s belly while Brianna moved to get everything ready. 

“Hey doc, anyone ever told you that you’re gorgeous?” 

Oh my lord Niall…

Harry looked at Niall with an amused smile as Brianna glanced at him holding the gel over Harry’s stomach. 

“More people than you know, sweety.” 

Niall chuckled and nodded, shifting a bit more so he was comfortable on top of Harry’s legs while Louis pulled his hand away from Harry’s belly so that Brianna had space. 

“Okay Harry, this is gonna be cold, you remember the routine.” 

Didn’t stop him from jumping when the cold gel landed on his skin, his stomach muscles contracting as he yelped a bit. 

“Couldn’t you warm that shit up, Bri?” 

She snorted and shook her head as she grabbed the ultrasound, moving it to run along his stomach. 

It was like everyone in the room was holding their breath, the room suddenly going silent as all their eyes moved to the screen as a picture started to show. It was quiet and for a moment, Harry was ready to panic, but then a small sound came from the machine, and Harry’s heart melted. 

“There it is.. Your baby's heartbeat.” 

For a moment, nothing else mattered in the world, his stresses melting off his shoulders as his eyes closed, zoning in on that steady sound. His baby.. His little one, alive and well in his stomach, and it had a heartbeat. He could feel Niall’s grip on his leg, Zayn slumping next to him, and Louis’ lips on his head, but all he could really register was that sound. 

His lips curled into a soft smile as he opened his eyes, looking up at Louis with a soft look in his eyes. 

“Our baby.” 

Louis nodded, his gaze soft as he brushed his fingers across the line of Harry’s jaw. 

“Our baby.” 

Brianna smiled and pulled away from him, reaching out to grab a few tissues to hand to Harry as she leaned against the side of the bed. 

“It’s still too early to determine a sex of the baby, but did that at least prove to you that nothing is wrong? You are doing an amazing job, Harry. You just need to try and stress a lot less. Vomiting is normal at your stage of the pregnancy, but it will go away. You’re gaining weight, which is good, means the baby is growing, and there is a strong heartbeat. You’re fine, the baby is fine, all is fine.” 

Harry nodded, a long breath slipping from his lips. 

“Thanks doc.” 

She nodded, standing up as she moved away from them. 

“Come back when you’re a few more weeks along and we’ll get a good picture of your baby so you can really see how healthy it is.” 

Nodding, Harry wiped the gel off of his skin as he stood up, forcing Niall off of him as he swung his legs around to stand up. 

“Hey doc can I talk to you?” 

Good lord Niall. 

Smiling, Harry got up and straightened up his clothing, moving out of the way as Niall climbed off the bed to stand in front of Brianna, whom was looking at him with high amusement. 

On his way out, he was nudged by Zayn, the other looping his arm around his shoulder. 

“You okay?” 

He nodded, letting out a long breath as he glanced back to make sure Louis was following. Which he was, of course, a smile instantly creasing his lips when he saw Harry looking at him. 

“Yeah i’m okay, just me being me.” 

Laughing softly, Zayn nodded “Panicking at every turn?” 

“Yeup!” 

Zayn squeezed his shoulder affectionately, leaning in to kiss the side of his head. 

“Good to know you’re not changing.” 

Harry smiled, his arm loosely wrapping around Zayn’s waist. 

“Never.” 

They walked out of the doctor's office like that, Louis coming out behind them and swerving in front of them to go to the car.

“Next time you have a pregnant panic attack, let’s not involve Niall, kay?”

Harry snorted, looking at Zayn with mild amusement as he nodded slowly. 

“Yeah, okay. Gotta admit he’s fun.” 

“Fun… right..” 

Zayn gave him one more squeeze before he released him and walked off, waving at them both on his way to his car. 

Looking over at Louis, Harry smiled when he saw he was standing with the passenger side door open for him, a large smile on his lips. 

“Come on, I want to show you something.” 

“Show me something? Why does that sound dangerous?” 

Louis pursed his lips, shrugging casually as he gestured for him to get in. 

“You have trust issues?”

“This is true.” Harry mused as he got in, fastening his seatbelt as Louis went around to the driver side. He looked over at him with a big grin as he put the key in the ignition, pulling away from the parking lot. 

“Why are you so excited?” 

“Because I am. Hush.” 

Louis drove in silence, taking him to a residential district that he didn’t know. The houses were large, nicely groomed, and way out of Harry’s price range. Although, he figured that didn’t matter for Louis. They were nice though, with big glass double front doors, paved walkways to the door, well groomed grass and large trees. 

They were homey, and Louis stopped in front of one of the largest ones, leading Harry to the front door where a padlock stood in their way, but Louis seemed to know the combination as he easily unlocked it to get the key inside, swinging the door open. 

“Louis…” 

The place was empty, and absolutely gorgeous. A large master staircase took up most of the entrance, a chandelier looming over their head. To the left was an archway that opened up to what seemed to be the living room, to their right was a small hall that connected to the kitchen. 

Louis guided him to the kitchen first, setting the key down on the counter. 

“It’s nice right?” 

Louis seemed eager, and that had Harry raising an eyebrow as he glanced around. The kitchen connected to a dining room that had a large glass wall that opened up to a large backyard. 

“It’s… expensive.” 

Louis chuckled and nodded slowly, guiding him into the dining room to show him the backyard. 

It was massive, and had a pool in the center with a diving board and water slide. It was gated off, grass surrounding it with a cemented path leading from the covered deck to the pool. 

“It’s perfect for a family..” 

Family… He liked the sound of that, but he couldn’t stop focusing on the price tag. 

“Louis this is really over the top don’t you think?”

Shrugging, Louis took his hand and brought him back out to the stairs, leading him up to the second floor that stretched out into a hallway that had doors lining both sides. 

“It’s three bedrooms, three baths. Figured we could make one into a playroom.” 

Harry’s mouth was agape, his eye wide as he walked down the hall to the double doors that he assumed opened up to the master bedroom. 

“You really want to move here?” 

Louis nodded, the gesture almost frantic as he opened the door to what would be their room. 

It was the size of his entire flat, and had an open bathroom latched onto it with a tub that could fit his entire family and a shower of equal size. 

“Just imagine it, Harry. You, me, our baby.. I’m not talking marriage-”

“-oh thank god.” 

That had Louis scowling at him, but he continued. “Just live here. So we can be together. I want to know that you’re safe.” 

“Is this about Aaron?” 

They hadn’t mentioned him since the night Louis’ mom had stopped by his flat, but he knew that it was a gigantic elephant in the room. Neither of them knew what he was up to, and it scared them. Harry probably more than Louis, but Louis had reason enough to be nervous. 

“No, it’s not about Aaron.” His tone dropped a bit, his gaze narrowing as he shook his head, moving to walk out into the middle of the room. “You don’t have to say yes, I haven’t put any money down on the house.. But it would be good for all of us if we lived together and my flat can’t hold a baby. We need something more substantial. Don’t think about the price, don’t think about crazy ex’s. Just think about us. Do you want to live with me, here?”

Harry watched him a moment, glancing around the room. He pictured them living there, their stuff up on the walls, their kid running through the halls laughing, learning how to swim in the pool.. And it was nice. It was exactly what he wanted. 

Smiling softly, he nodded, moving over to Louis and wrapping his arms around his waist, pulling them flush together. 

“Yes, Louis. I want to live here with you… buy it. It’s ours.” 

Louis’ smile was breathtaking and large, his shoulders slumping like Harry had just taken an entire world off his shoulders. Leaning in, he pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, his arms encasing Harry in a tight hug as he lifted him up and swung them around, a loud laugh slipping from Harry’s lips. 

“Oh thank the lords.” 

Harry raised an eyebrow, pulling back to look at him. 

“You lied didn’t you? You already put money into the house.”

Louis gave an almost apologetic smile, his shoulders lifting in an innocent shrug. 

“I might have bought the house already.” 

Smacking him on his arm, Harry burst out laughing. 

“You’re horrible.” 

“Yes but you love me.” 

Harry laughed more, nodding as he leaned down to kiss him long and slow. 

“Yeah I do, ya prick.” 

He was happy, finally completely happy… the only thing that could ruin it was another Aaron appearance… which he was always prepared for. 

But never prepared enough.


	21. Chapter 21

Moving had always been the biggest hassle, but it was made worse when Harry realized how little he could do while pregnant. 

When he had moved to Manchester he was so early in his pregnancy he wasn't even showing, so lifting and bending and moving around for a few hours didn't do much to him or the baby. Now? He was lucky if anyone let him lift a pillow. 

It was weird, seeing his entire life in boxes yet again, but what was more weird was how at home he felt with the entire thing. Louis had already moved his things into the home, and had plans on coming by after work to help finish up Harry's move, but in the meantime he had to deal with the Scooby gang. 

Zayn and Liam had shown up early that morning to help pack away the last of his things, and oddly enough they were civil towards one another. In fact, Harry had walked out of his room to find them snogging in the kitchen. Fat load of help they were. Didn't matter, because Niall showed up soon after noon with the moving truck and they kicked things into gear. 

Well, not Harry. 

He was told to stand there and look pretty as the boys lugged his boxes and what little furniture he had into the moving truck, a small pout on his lips. 

“I can help you know.” He shot out for what seemed like the thousandth time. Zayn simply rolled his eyes and shook his head, giving him an annoyed look. 

“You are not risking that baby's life because you're stubborn.” 

Pouting, Harry sighed. 

“At least let me go get something to eat. I'm starving.” 

Chuckling, Zayn nodded as he picked up one of the boxes. 

“Go go. You pain in the arse.” 

Harry smiled and reached out, snagging Zayn's wallet from his back pocket as he passed. 

“Thanks. You're a doll.” 

He didn't stay to see the dirty look he knew he was getting, turning and moving down the street.   
There was a small convenient store not a block down the road that had those melts that Harry loved, and he was just barely managing to keep food down, so he was gonna have one if it killed him. 

He was handing the nice older man a bill from Zayn's wallet when something caught his attention outside. Glancing over, he froze. 

Aarons car was parked outside the store and sitting on the hood of the car was the man of the hour. 

“Knew it was too good to be true.” 

“Excuse me, sir?” 

Harry turned to look at the confused clerk, who was holding out his change for him to take. 

“Oh um, nothing. Keep the change.” Snatching up the bag, he pushed out of the store, pinning Aaron with a look. “Go away.” 

“Looking good, love. Pregnant is a good look for you.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Harry huffed. 

“Awww thanks. Go away.” 

Aaron just smiled, sliding off the hood of the car with a grin. 

“Get in.” 

“Not a bloody chance in hell.”

Nodding, Aaron reached in through the opened passenger side window, snagging up something from the dashboard before straightening up and holding it out. 

“Get in, Harry.” 

Harry gave Aaron an extremely skeptical look, eyeing the paper in his hand for a moment before he reached out with his free hand. 

It wasn't a paper, it was a picture of a kid, couldn't be more than three years old with a messy mop of curly hair falling into his eyes as he reached up to a woman whose back was to the camera. 

Oh no…

“How did you-” 

“You'd be amazed what I can do, Harry. Now come on, in. I think it's about time me and you had a nice long talk.” 

He didn't want to get in that car, not even a little bit, but something was pulling him to. Glancing in the direction of his apartment, he pursed his lips. 

They wouldn't notice he was gone, would they? Was he actually considering going with Aaron? 

With a slump of his shoulders, Harry moved towards the car. 

“That's my boy.” Aaron practically cooed as he stepped out of the way so Harry could get in. 

“Bite me.” He snapped, jerking the car door open before he slid in. Aaron laughed as he made his way around to the right side of the car, sliding in and starting it up. 

They drove for what felt like hours, but in reality was only about twenty minutes, coming to a stop at a small well kempt park. It was an oddly sunny day out, and families were taking advantage of that. 

“Aaron please tell me you didn't take me to see him.” 

“Toby..” 

Raising an eyebrow, he looked over at the alpha, confusion in his gaze. 

“Come again? your wiring must be crossed.”

Giving him a sideways look, Aaron rolled his eyes. 

“His name is Toby, and no he's not here. But he was. He comes here with his adoptive parents every weekend. It's kinda cute really.” 

Watching Aaron, Harry tried to gauge the others mood, but it was hard, especially when Aaron refused to look directly at him, staring out the windshield. 

“Adorable.. Why are we here?” 

Shrugging, Aaron reached out to pull the keys from the ignition, tossing them onto the dashboard with a long sigh. 

“It's as good a place as any to talk.” 

“Talk about what?” 

“Why.”

Oh lord he didn't want to have this conversation. He fled Holmes Chapel because of how much he didn't want to do this. But he had himself trapped. He could get out of the car and leave, but the odds of Aaron actually letting him leave were very slim. Even if he could get away, he had no way of knowing how to get back to the boys. It was then that he realized he had left his phone sitting on the counter in the apartment, so there was that option gone. 

Bravo Harold, you're a complete wanker. 

“Aaron, don't do this. It's in the past.” 

Shaking his head, Aaron finally turned to look at him and Harry cringed back a little. 

Hurt Aaron he could handle, he had dealt with that before. All he needed to do was apologize and try and sooth the other. But this, this wasn't hurt Aaron, this was angry Aaron. He could see it in his eyes. He had surpassed the heartbroken lover stage and had gone right into the pissed off ex boyfriend who probably wanted to strangle him stage. 

“It might be in the past for you, but it's not for me. I didn't even know. You left in the middle of the night, no one would tell me where you had gone, and the only reason I knew about the baby was because that idiot Perrie let it slip that you had given birth. So, excuse me Harry, if I'm not over it like you seem to be.” 

Harry cringed at the tone Aaron used. His voice was deep, growly, his presence filling the car and eliciting a distressed sound from the omega.   
“I wasn't ready..” 

Scoffing, Aaron rolled his eyes. 

“You didn't even try.” 

Twisting in his seat, Harry narrowed his gaze in a split moment of nerve. 

“We were doomed to end up apart, Aaron. No matter how hard I tried to see good in you, no matter how deeply you sunk your claws into me every time I pulled away, we were never going to work. I wasn't ready to raise a child on my own. I couldn't be the parent he deserved. So I did what was best for him and gave him to a family who would love him like he needed to be loved. Loved him in a way I never could.” 

“Because he's half me?” The bitter question had Harry pausing, a frown forming on his lips as he'd locked his jaw. “Admit it, Harry. You couldn't love him because he was half me. Yet you didn't even give me a chance to try and love him. I don't see how that's fair to me.” 

It wasn't. He had made the decision without Aaron and he had known then like he knew now that it had been wrong. But so would have been raising a child in the type of environment he had lived in for years. 

“I'm sorry I hurt you, Aaron. I truly am. But there's nothing to be done. He's with a good family. You've seen him, you've said your part to me, let this go. I'm happy now, why can't you move on and find your happiness?” 

Aaron watched him for a long moment, eyes narrowing until he was pretty sure he had closed them. When he finally spoke, it was with an eerily calm tone. 

“Because I'm not done yet.” 

What happened next happened way too fast for Harry to actually remember when he woke up. All he could remember was a blinding pain before everything went white and hot, then black and cold. 

His vision was blurred when he blinked his eyes open, a throbbing in his face making him scrunch his nose, which hurt more than the throbbing had. He was laying on his back, but was propped up, and bright florescent lights blinded him for a moment. Raising his hand to shield his eyes, he looked to his left where a young girl in a pair of purple dotted scrubs was writing in a chart. 

“What happened, where am I?” His voice was hoarse and thick, his throat feeling like sandpaper. 

The nurse looked at him and smiled softly, setting the pen down as she came moved closer. 

“You're in the hospital Mr. Styles. You had a nasty fall, broke your nose but you should heal right up.” 

Fall? What? That didn't make sense. Shaking his head, his hand dropped to his stomach, his body tensing as he glanced down at his extended belly. 

“Relax, your baby is fine. Healthy as a horse. Just try not to fall again, okay? Doctor is putting you on bed rest for a few weeks just to make sure that little one is okay.” 

That had Harry relaxing, a long breath slipping from his lips. 

“The father, where is he?” Harry glanced around, expecting to see Louis hovering like he always did when Harry wasn't in tip top shape. 

“He's waiting outside the door. I'll let him know you're looking for him.” She gave a sweet smile as she walked back over to his file, making a few last minute notes before closing it and hooking it onto the end of his bed. When she left, she paused and spoke to someone just outside the door with a smile, gesturing in towards Harry. 

The voice that replied wasn't Louis’ and Louis wasn't who walked into the room as the nurse disappeared from view. 

Aaron… It all came crashing back; Toby, their talk, his anger, the blinding pain. Harry shot up, moving to scramble out of the bed, but the IV in his arm added to the way his head swam slowed him down enough that Aaron got to him first, shoving him back down into the bed forcibly. 

“Now now, doctor's orders. Stay in bed. Wouldn't want you falling again.” 

“You.. You..” Words failed Harry for a moment, his anger overpowering the need to vomit as the room spun around him. “You arse!” 

Making a small shushing sound, Aaron pushed on his chest a bit more, lips curling into a sly grin. 

“Relax. We don't want to hurt the baby do we? I hear this is a very delicate time during the pregnancy. High stress levels put the baby at serious risk.” 

“You're nothing but high stress levels, ya prick. Where are we?” 

Chuckling, Aaron moved to sit down on the edge of the bed, ignoring the death stare he was receiving from Harry. 

“In a hospital a good enough distance away that it should take a very long time for Tomlinson to find you. If he can find you at all. He should know you're missing by now.. It's been a few hours.” 

“hours!” Harry looked around for a clock, finding a digital one hanging above the door. Sure enough it was just after six at night. Louis would be off work by now and probably in a panic when Harry wasn't at the house. Zayn and the boys wouldn't have any idea where he was either. 

“Again with the yelling. It's a wonder this baby has made it this far.” Aaron moved to touch Harry's belly, only to receive a sharp smack from Harry as he pulled away as best he could. 

“What did you do to me?” His head hurt, the skin around his eyes tight and tender. 

“Nothing you didn't deserve.” Came Aaron's simple reply as he moved to stand up. “Try and get some rest. Although.. Wouldn't suggest sleeping. Doctor says you probably have a concussion.” 

“You gave me a concussion?” Why was he surprised? Aaron had done it before. 

“Technically? The dashboard of my car gave you the concussion. I just simply helped.” He said it so casually, like they were discussing the latest football match. 

“I'm gonna tell them the truth.” 

Nodding slowly, Aaron smiled, the look almost attractive.. If he wasn't a psychopath that had just given him a concussion. 

“I wouldn't expect any less of you. Go ahead and tell them. But honestly, I'm not worried. The most they'll do is ask if you want to press charges.” 

Raising an eyebrow, Harry snorted. 

“To which my answer is, hell yes. Lock him up.” 

Nodding, Aaron moved towards the door, hands slipping into his front pockets. 

“And how well do you think that'll go? How do you think I got the adoption papers? Or how I found him. Or how I've been able to find you? I've got friends in high places. So go ahead and waste your time pressing charges and all that crap. I'm gonna go home and have a beer or two and enjoy the rest of my night. Tell Louis I said hi when you see him.” 

Frowning, Harry touched his nose and whined, wincing as he pulled his hand away. 

“What was the whole point of this?” 

Aaron turned to look at him, standing right outside the hospital door. 

“You got in the car. You let me get close enough to hurt you again even after you fell so deeply in love with someone else. And that, my beautiful boy, is something Louis is gonna have to live with. I'll see you later, baby.” 

With a wink, Aaron slipped out of sight, leaving Harry alone in the hospital room with his own thoughts and worries. 

What was Louis going to think? Oh god what was going to happen to him? He felt it, the beginnings of a panic attack and even if he tried to stop it, that horrible tightening in his chest refused to give. A groan slipped from his lips as he rested his hand on his belly, willing his breathing to relax as he tried to focus on the little life inside him that needed him to relax. 

It needed him… That little bundle of life inside him needed him, and while he would have thought that would make the panic worsen, it didn't. In fact, his chest seemed to loosen almost as fast as it had tightened, his shoulders slumping as he took in a long deep breath. His baby needed him to be calm and relaxed. And while he didn't feel either of those things, he was willing to fake it. 

Glancing around, he spotted the phone resting on the bedside table and reached for it. 

He needed Louis, no matter how scared he was about Louis’ reaction to him letting Aaron in, he needed him, his wolf quickly going into distress the longer he didn't have his alpha near him, and his baby needed him to relax. 

So he needed Louis.


End file.
